CIVIL GOVERNMENl 



a THE UNITED STATES 



D. D. ^WALLACE 




Class 
Book 



K 2,. 



r ujis 



CoppghtN". 



COPnUGIIT DEPOSIT. 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



OF 



THE UNITED STATES 



BY 



D. D. WALLACE, Ph.D. 

Professor of History and Economics 
in Wofford College 



* 



DALLAS, TEXAS 
SOUTHERN PUBLISHING CO. 

1906 



Copyright, 1906, by 
D. D. WALLACE 



vVi? 



LfBRARY of CONGRESS 




Two Conie? Rpceivcd 

AUG 14 1906 

/7 C0D«i-iK»ii Entry 
%L\^^CL xxc. No, 
COPY B. ' 


-- — /- 



-J 



PREFACE 



In preparing this little book I have followed the 
method by which I conceive that the subject can most 
easily and profitably be unfolded to the child. Ac- 
cordingly, I have proceeded from the simple to the 
complex, and from the known to the unknown. The 
simplest and most familiar phase of government in 
the child's experience and observation is the public 
school ; this is taken as the starting point. 

In style the same principle has governed. The 
earlier chapters may appear too simple, while some 
teachers may consider the latter ones too difficult. 
I hope, however, that experience will prove that the 
attempt to lead the pupil along a gentle upward grade 
has been successful. It has been my experience that 
a reasonable amount of detail makes a subject more 
intelligible and realistic to the pupil, and thus enables 
him to prepare and remember it better. 

I would urge the importance of requiring the prep- 
aration of the suggestive questions at the end of the 
chapter. This will lead to independence of thought 



IV PREFACE 

and judgment. One or more questions, according 
to their difficulty, may be assigned to each pupil and 
a report be required at the next recitation. It will 
sometimes be found profitable to assign nothing beyond 
the questions for preparation and spend the whole 
recitation period on the reports and discussion. If 
the answers are at all extensive it is best to require 
the reports to be brought to the class in writing to 
be read aloud, but not handed in. 

A number of friends, particularly of the legal pro- 
fession, have very kindly rendered me assistance in 
supplying information. I desire to thank them all, 
and at the same time to acknowledge my great obliga- 
tions to Senator H. B. Carlisle for much aid of this 
kind, and to Capt. J. W. Carlisle and Senator Carlisle 
for the use of their law library. 

D. D. W. 

Spartanburg, S. C, February 24, 1906. 



A]VXOUXCEl»IE\T : In order to meet three well-defined conditions, 
" The Civil Government of South Carolina and of the United States," by 
D. D. Wallace, Ph. D., is printed in three books as follows: 

1. The complete book containing the civil government of the state and 
of the nation, with Table of Contents and Indices. 

2. The Civil Government of South Carolina, alone, with the complete 
Table of Contents and Index. 

3. The Civil Government of the United States, alone, with the complete 
Table of Contents and Index. 



CONTENTS 



BOOK I 

Government of the State of South CaroUna 

DIVISION I.— LOCAL GOYERNMENT 

Part I. — County Government 



Chapter I. The School District 

Chapter II. The County . , . , 

Chapter III. County Property and County Functions 

Chapter IV. Board of County Commissioners . 

Chapter V. The Auditor and Other Tax Assessing 

Officers 

Chapter VI. The County Treasurer 

Chapter VII. The Sheriff 

Chapter VIII. The Coroner 

Chapter IX. The Clerk of Court 

Chapter X. The Probate Judge 

Chapter XI. County Superintendent of Education 

Chapter XII. Magistrates 

Chapter XIII. General Review of County Government 

Part II. — Town and City Government 



PAGB 

I 
8 

14 
21 

27 
34 
36 

39 
40 
46 
51 
54 
56 



Chapter XIV. General Nature of Town and City Government 63 
Chapter XV. Government of Towns of 1000 Inhabitants or 

Under .... 67 

Chapter XVI. Government of Towns of over iooo Inhabitants 70 



DIVISION II.— STATE GOVERNMENT 

Chapter XVII. General Nature of the State Government 



77 



CONTENTS 



Part I. — The Legislative Department 

Chapter XVIII, General Description of the Legislature 
Chapter XIX. The Legislature at Work 

Part II. — The Executive Department 

Chapter XX. General Description of the Executive 

Department 

Chapter XXI. The Governor, or Chief Executive 

Chapter XXII. Secretary of State 

Chapter XXIIL Attorney General 

Chapter XXIV. State Treasurer 

Chapter XXV. Comptroller General 

Chapter XXVI. State Superintendent of Education 



PAGE 
82 

88 



95 
97 
106 
109 
112 
117 
120 



Part III. — The Judiciary Department 

Chapter XXVII. The Powers and Procedure of the 

Circuit Courts 
Chapter XXVIII. Division of the State into Circuits 
Chapter XXIX. The State Supreme Court 



Chapter XXX. 
Chapter XXXI. 
Chapter XXXII. 



The State Constitution 
Elections and Politics 
Differences between Government in 
South Carolina and in Other Stat 



127 
136 

138 

143 
149 

156 



BOOK II 

The National Government 

Chapter XXXIII. Origin and Purpose of the National 

Government . . . 163 

Chapter XXXIV. General Characteristics of the Na- 
tional Government . . 170 



Part I. — The Legislative Department 



Chapter XXXV. 
Chapter XXXVI. 
Chapter XXXVII. 



Congress . 
The Senate 
The House of Representatives 



183 
186 
192 



CONTENTS 



Part II. — The Executive Department 



Chapter XXXVIII. 
Chapter XXXIX. 
Chapter XL. 

Chapter XLI. 

Chapter XLII. 



The President 
The President's Cabinet 
The Department of State 
Treasury Department 
Other Cabinet Officers 



Part III. — The Judiciary Department 

Chapter XLIIL United States Courts 

Chapter XLIV. The United States Supreme Court 



Chapter XLV. Territories .... 
Chapter XLVI. National Politics . . . 

Chapter XLVII. Relations of the States to Each Other 
and to the National Government 



Constitution of the United States . 



PACE 
202 
212 
2l6 
221 
223 



228 
236 

241 
246 

252 



MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 

The State Capitol at Columbia . . Frontispiece 

Map of a school district ..... 
Map of South Carolina as divided into counties in 1785, showing 

also the seven judicial districts created in 1769 
Map of Spartanburg county divided into townships 
Part of a page from the Auditor's duplicate . 
Part of the General Sessions journal, kept by the Clerk of Court 
Part of a page from the Court of Common Pleas journal, kept by 

the Clerk of Court .... 
Map of the city of Spartanburg divided into wards 
County and parish representation in South Carolina by Constitu 

tion of 1790 .... 

Map of South Carolina divided into judicial circuits 
The United States Capitol at Washington 
View of the United States Senate chamber 
Map of South Carolina divided into Congressional districts 
Presidential electoral ticket used in South Carolina in 1904 
The United States divided into judicial circuits 
The United States Supreme Court room 



10 
^3 
30 
41 

43 
71 

81 

137 
162 
191 

193 
206 

233 
238 



BOOK II 

Tlie National Government * 

CHAPTER XXXIII 

ORIGIN AND PURPOSE OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 

269. The Colonial Government. — Before the Revo- 
lutionary war which made the United States inde- 
pendent, the thirteen States which united to form 
our Union were thirteen separate colonies, belonging 
to Great Britain. Their governments had no con- 
nection with each other, any more than now exists 
between the two British colonies of Jamaica and 
Newfoundland. Each colony had a legislature of 
its own that managed its own local affairs ; but things 
that concerned the outside world, such as foreign 
trade, war, and relations with foreign countries, were 
managed for each colony by the government of Great 
Britain. 

270. The Revolution Necessitates a Central Govern- 
ment. — When the Declaration of Independence an- 
nounced that the colonies had severed their connection 

* The national government is often spoken of as the federal g^overnment. 
Both terms are used in this book to mean the same thing. 



164 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

with Great Britain, it became necessary to create some 
government to perform the general duties formerly 
attended to by Parliament. It was necessary to set 
up a central government to carry on wars which might 
have to be waged in defense of America, or to regulate 
and protect people and ships engaged in trading across 
the ocean, and in distant lands. Each State might 
have attended to these matters for itself; but the 
people saw that it would be much better to join in 
one central government for these purposes; because 
it would enable them to get along better with each 
other, and would make them strong enough to stand 
against foreign enemies. It was for these reasons 
that the thirteen States joined themselves into one 
country as the United States of America. 

271. Liberty and Union. — The Colonies intended 
from the first to be not only free, but to be united in 
defense of their freedom. They knew that they would 
not be likely to remain free and great unless they 
stood together. Their idea was expressed in the 
motto adopted by one of the States: "United We 
Stand; Divided We Fall." 

On^ June loth, 1776, the Continental Congress 
appointed Thomas Jefferson Chairman of a Com- 
mittee to write the Declaration of Independence; 
the very next day it decided to appoint another Com- 
mittee to draw up a plan for a central government 



PURPOSE OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 165 

for all the thirteen States. This Committee wrote 
the Articles of Confederation. 

272. The Articles of Confederation. — The Conti- 
nental Congress continued to conduct the war and 
act as the representative of the United States until 
1 781. By that year all the States had agreed to the 
Articles of Confederation, and they accordingly went 
into effect, and the Continental Congress became the 
" Congress of the Confederation." The Articles of Con- 
federation remained in force from 1781 to 1789, during 
which time the government proved to be so weak 
and inefficient that the States determined "to form 
a more perfect Union." The Articles of Confedera- 
tion were unsatisfactory because the people had not 
had any experience in governing a niimber of separate 
States as one united body. But we ''should not 
despise the first step because it took two steps to 
reach a firm government." The Articles of Confedera- 
tion were the first step; the Constitution was the 
second. 

273. Constitutional Convention of 1787. — In 1787 
all the original thirteen States except Rhode Island 
sent delegates to Philadelphia to a convention to 
improve the form of government. They worked 
for four months, and at the end of that time had 
completed the Constitution. The Constitution was 
then discussed by a convention in each State, and 



1 66 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

was adopted by each State by the vote of its conven- 
tion.* It went into operation in the spring of 1789, 
with Washington as the first President. 

274. Object in Establishing the Constitution. — The 
first words of the Constitution are: "We the people 
of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, 
provide for the common defence, promote the general 
welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to our- 
selves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this 
Constitution for the United States of America." 

Experience had shown that unless a strong central 
government was established, the people were in danger 
of losing all those advantages in order to enjoy which 
they declared that they established the Constitution. 
By going over each of the objects we will see how true 
this was. 

275. — " Form a More Perfect Union." — The Union 
under the Articles of Confederation was so imperfect 
that the government was in continual danger of falling 
to pieces. As we shall see, hostility and hatred were 
largely taking the place of the spirit of common patriot- 
ism. If the threatened dangers of civil war, com- 
mercial ruin, separation and strife were to be avoided, 

* In South Carolina the low country favored the Constitution, and the 
up country opposed it, partly because of old grudges, jealousies and mis- 
understandings dating back to the Revolution, and even before it. 



PURPOSE OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 167 

it was absolutely necessary for the States to make 
the Union among themselves stronger and better 
suited to the needs of the times. 

276. " Establish Justice." — In all the States the 
disturbed conditions produced by the war had oc- 
casioned great wrong and injustice to many people in 
various ways. Some who had lent money or sold land 
or goods on credit had been compelled to receive 
worthless paper money, barren lands, or starving cattle 
in payment. This had ruined many honest people, 
and had done great harm to the whole country. 

Foreign countries had treated us very contempt- 
uously because we had a poor, weak government, and 
many States had treated foreigners and some of their 
own citizens very unjustly. For instance, England 
refused to pay for property her soldiers had stolen, 
and also refused to give up some American forts along 
the Great Lakes. Many States refused to allow 
Englishmen to collect debts for goods which Americans 
had bought from them. In many States the lands 
and houses of Americans had been taken from them 
by the State government because they had not joined 
in the Revolutionary war. So a good Constitution 
and a strong government were certainly needed in 
order to "establish justice." 

277. " Insure Domestic Tranquility." — This means 
to have peace and good order within the coimtry. 



1 68 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

It means to punish people who break the laws or get 
up riots or in any way disturb or trouble orderly people. 
All over the country crimes, disorder and confusion 
were common because of the terrible experiences of 
war, hardships and bad government through which 
the people had passed. In Massachusetts Captain 
Daniel Shays put himself at the head of several thou- 
sand farmers made desperate by their hopeless indebted- 
ness and for several months marched through the 
State interfering with the holding of courts and the 
administration of the law. This rebellion was sup- 
pressed only after the calling out of several thousand 
troops. In other States there were men waiting to 
begin similar insurrections if Shays should suc- 
ceed. 

Connecticut had sent soldiers into Pennsylvania 
and turned hundreds of people out of their homes 
to starve or freeze, because she foolishly and wrongly 
claimed that the northern part of that State belonged 
to her. War between the two States would likely 
have resulted if the Quakers and Dutch of Pennsyl- 
vania had not been such peace-loving people. 

New York and Vermont actually sent soldiers against 
each other in a dispute about their boundary line and 
came very near the shedding of blood in battle. 

Congress had been driven out of Philadelphia by 
a mob of drunken soldiers. So we see there was cer- 



PURPOSE OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 169 

tainly need of a better government in order to secure 
peace and safety at home, or, as the Constitution says, 
to "insure domestic tranquility." 

278. "Provide for the Common Defence." — This 
means to defend the United States against foreign 
nations. On account of our weak government we 
had been treated with great contempt by foreign 
governments, and it looked as though the United 
States might again come \inder British power or fall 
to pieces and be divided up among several European 
nations as their colonies, unless something was done 
to enable us to defend ourselves. 

279. " Promote the General Welfare." — The lack 
of a strong central government injured the people 
in many ways. It was not safe to trade from one 
State to another; because there was no strong central 
government to compel any State to treat citizens 
of other States justly. For instance. New York and 
Connecticut got into a dispute and placed such heavy 
taxes on traders from one State selling in the other 
as to do great harm to the citizens of both. 

It was very much the same with New Jersey and 
New York. A great many good and useful occupa- 
tions were engaged in very little or not at all because 
people had no general government to protect their 
rights. 

It was evident, therefore, that the establishment 



I70 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

of a good Constitution for the whole country would 
be very greatly for the ''General Welfare." 

280. " Secure the Blessing of Liberty to Ourselves 
and our Posterity." — If something was not done to 
prevent the disasters we have been describing the 
country would fall to pieces, wars between the States 
would follow, and the freedom of the people would 
be destroyed. Nobody's life or property would be 
safe, and government by the people would prove a 
failure. Kings or wicked, despotic soldiers would 
certainly seize the government of the different States, 
and the benefits gained by the Revolution, as well 
as the civilization and fraternity which the people 
enjoyed as colonists, would all be imperiled. The 
men who made the Constitution planned not only for 
themselves, but for us, their posterity; and we now 
enjoy the great and free government which they es- 
tablished in the Constitution. 

CHAPTER XXXIV 

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 

281. The National Government Created by the States. 

— We saw in the last chapter that the national govern- 
ment was created by the people of the separate States 
in order to secure peace, liberty, and prosperity. The 
States created the national government in the Con- 



CHARACTER OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 171 

stitution and gave it all the powers it possesses. The 
people in the States created the State governments 
by freeing themselves from England, and for that 
reason the States possess all the powers of govern- 
ment except those which they have given away to 
the national government and agreed never to exercise. 

282. Granted Powers. — ^The national government 
has no powers except those granted to it in the United 
States Constitution by the people of the States. The 
State, on the other hand, has all powers not denied 
to it by the national Constitution. This arises from 
the fact that the States are older than the Constitution 
and are the source from which all the powers of govern- 
ment in our country originally sprung. 

283. Powers Granted to the National Government. 
— As we learned in Chapter XVII, most of the powers 
of government are retained by the States; most of 
the matters of everyday life are under the power of 
the State. But some of the most important powers 
have been granted to the national government. The 
people were careful not to grant any powers to the 
national government except those which they thought 
it could exercise better and to greater advantage to 
the whole country than could the States separately. 
We shall now examine the principal powers which 
the national government can exercise, and try to see 
why it is best that it should exercise them. 



172 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

284. The Taxing Power. — The national government 
has the right to lay any and every kind of tax. It is 
absolutely necessary for a government to have the 
power of taxing the people if it is to perform its duties 
and be respected. Under the Articles of Confedera- 
tion Congress had to request the States to give it 
certain amounts of money, like a beggar passing around 
his hat. As a result Congress was always poor and 
could not pay its debts or pay its army or command 
the respect of foreign nations. People came to have 
such a contempt for Congress that they paid little 
attention to its laws and good men did not care to 
be elected members. 

285. The Tariff. — The tax on goods brought into 
the United States from foreign countries is called a 
tariff. It is regulated in this way. The United 
States government passes a law that anyone bringing 
in certain articles shall pay the tax named for each 
article; for instance, now (1906) blankets pay 50 cents 
a pound, books 25 per cent, of their value, cheese 
6 cents a pound, cotton gloves 50 per cent, of their 
value, eggs 5 cents a dozen, lard 2 cents a pound, 
musical instruments 45 per cent, of their value, horse- 
shoe nails 2%. cents a pound, jewelry 60 per cent, of 
its value, onions 40 cents a bushel,, wheat 25 cents 
a bushel, first class wool 11 cents a pound. 

At each port and in every city on the border of 



CHARACTER OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT I73 

Canada and Mexico there is a custom house, where 
officers examine the goods brought into the United 
States and collect the taxes on them. In 1905 the 
total receipts of money by the United States govern- 
ment amounted to $543,000,000; of this $262,000,000, 
or 48 per cent., was from the tariff. 

286. Internal Revenue. — The taxes on whisky, 
beer, wine, snuff and tobacco are called internal 
revenue taxes, because they are collected in the in- 
terior, or internal, parts of the country. These taxes 
are collected by the United States government, no 
matter whether the States in which the whisky and 
tobacco are manufactured are taxing them or not. 
The government has a special set of officers to collect 
these taxes and see that nobody escapes by distilling 
whisky or making cigars and so forth in secret. In 
1905 the United States government collected in 
internal revenue taxes $233,000,000, or 43 per cent, 
of its total income. Thus we see that from tariff 
and internal revenue the United States government 
gets 91 per cent, of all its income. Except in times 
of war, it leaves all other sorts of taxes, such as on 
land, houses, incomes, horses, business licenses, to 
the State government. 

287. Commerce. — The national government has com- 
plete control over inter-State commerce and foreign 
commerce, i.e. commerce between people living in 



174 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

different States or between people in the United States 
and a foreign country. This is necessary in order 
to prevent any State government, on account of 
prejudice, ignorance or selfishness, from interfering 
with your or my right to buy a horse (say) in Kentucky, 
a car load of fruit in California, or a barrel of sugar 
in Louisiana ; or with our selling our cotton to a mer- 
chant in Massachusetts, England, France, China or 
any other place we might desire. Few things can do 
a country more harm than to have the trade and 
travel of its citizens of different sections interrupted. 
Experience under the weak Articles of Confederation, 
and the attempts of some States since, show that the 
framers of the Constitution were very wise in giving the 
national government complete power in regulating and 
protecting commerce that goes beyond any one State. 

288. Bankruptcy. — Closely associated with the power of Con- 
gress over inter-State commerce is its power to pass laws regarding 
bankruptcy. A bankrupt is a person who cannot pay his debts. 
When a person finds himself in this condition he may voluntarily 
"go into bankruptcy," or his creditors may, if they choose, force 
him into it. A person is then appointed by the court to collect all 
the property of the bankrupt and with it pay his creditors as much 
as possible, in proportion to the amoun. owed to each. After the 
affairs of the bankrupt are settled under the bankruptcy law, no 
one can ever hold him responsible for any of the debts which he 
owed at that time. He is free to make a new start. 

Since so many of the debts owed by merchants (the class 
to which, on account of the nature of their business, bank- 
rupts usually belong) are frequently owed to persons outside 
the State, it is proper that bankruptcy regulations should be in 



CHARACTER OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 1 75 

the control of the United States government. At various times 
Congress has left bankruptcy regulations to the States, and at 
others has itself passed bankruptcy laws. At present (1906) there 
is a national bankruptcy law in operation. 

289. Weights and Measures. — The United States 
government has power to say what shall be the weights 
and measures used all over the country. This is 
almost absolutely necessary if we are to have trade 
between the different States. Think of what con- 
fusion would result if a bushel was one size in one 
State and another size in others; if a yard was 
30 inches long in the North and 35^ in the South 
and 41 1 in the West; or if part of the States weighed 
things by the pound, part by old Hebrew standards, 
and part by the weights of the Romans. 

290. Money. — For the United States to have the 
exclusive right to regulate the value and material of 
money is even more necessary than for it to regulate 
weights and measures. Therefore its power in this 
is absolute. 

291. War. — Only the United States can declare 
war or keep up a regular army or navy. The power 
to make war is such a fearful and harmful power, 
unless exercised with moderation and wisdom, that 
it is kept in the hands of the central government 
alone. In all ages and countries, nations which have 
allowed States or provinces within the nation to make 
war have been brought to ruin. 



176 CIVIL aOVERN3IE:NT OF THE UNITED STATES 

The United States Constitution grants Congress the right to 
assume any degree of control it may think needful and proper 
over the organization and discipHne of the State militia. Any 
power which Congress does not choose to exercise over the militia 
the State is free to exercise; but the State may not pass any law 
regulating the militia contrary to laws for that purpose passed by 
Congress. At present (1906) Congress leaves the control of the 
militia almost altogether to the States and confines itself to giving 
assistance, such as money for equipment, encampments, instruc- 
tion, etc. 

When the militia is called into the service of the United States 
government, the control of the State gives way completely to that 
of the national government. 

292. Foreign Affairs. — It is impossible for one family 
to get along without having anything whatsoever to 
do with any other family. Just so a nation is constantly 
finding that matters ar4se which require discussion 
and arrangement with other nations. This is called 
foreign affairs. In order to have influence in foreign 
affairs, a government must act with great wisdom, 
and have back of it great power, population and wealth. 
Every reason requires that our foreign affairs should 
be completely in the control of the United States 
government. Even as it is, several times a few people 
in some States have come near causing war by their 
unlawful conduct toward foreign nations. 

293. Protecting American Citizens Abroad. — If an 
American is wronged by a foreign government, his 
own State has nothing to do with it; but the United 
States government takes up the matter and stands 
ready with the whole power of the mighty nation to 



CHARACTER OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 177 

compel the foreign government to do him justice. 
For this reason no foreign nation dares wrong the 
humblest and weakest American citizen. If a citizen 
of a foreign country injures an American in that foreign 
country, the foreign government will punish its own 
citizen, for the United States government stands 
with its whole army and navy to see that justice is 
done. 

An American citizen was once standing before the executioner 
in a foreign country, the next minute to be unjustly shot. A 
representative of his government stepped up and threw an Ameri- 
can flag over his body, and he was as safe as if the silken cloth 
had been a wall of stone. 

294. Citizenship. — Citizenship is the condition of 
being a member of a State or nation, enjoying its 
protection and owing to it obedience and support. 
A citizen is said to owe allegiance to his country. This 
means to be faithful to it against all other govern- 
ments or countries. We are citizens of our State 
and also citizens of the United States. 

295. Who Are Citizens. — The right to determine 
who shall be citizens belongs to the United States 
government. The United States Constitution says 
that **all persons bom or naturalized in the United 
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are 
citizens of the United States and of the State wherein 
they reside." This compels every State to receive 



178 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

as a citizen every person whom the United States 
government declares to be a citizen; but it does not 
prevent a State from admitting as a citizen within 
its own hounds a person whom the United States does 
not recognize as a citizen. For instance, no State 
can refuse citizenship to a negro, because the United 
States government gives him citizenship; but a State 
may allow a Chinese immigrant to be a citizen within 
its own bounds, although he is not allowed to become 
a citizen of the United States and can claim no right 
of citizenship under the United States Constitution 
or laws. 

The children of ambassadors and other diplomatic 
officers of foreign governments residing in this country 
do not become citizens of the United States by being 
born within its bounds. 

296. American Children Born Abroad. — Children who 
are born of American citizens in foreign countries 
are natural born citizens of the United States; but 
unless these children live for awhile in the United 
States, children of theirs born in foreign countries 
cannot claim American citizenship. 

297. Naturalization. — Naturalization is making a 
person a citizen who was not born a citizen. Giving 
United States citizenship to foreigners is a power 
belonging only to the United States government. The 
naturalization law requires that a foreigner must live 



CHARACTER OF NATIOJ^AL GOVERNMENT 1 79 

in the United States for a period of five years, and 
must declare his intention of becoming a citizen 
at least two years before securing citizenship. For 
instance, if he came to this country in the year 1900, 
he could become a citizen in 1905, provided he declared 
his intention not later than 1903. 

The intention of becoming a citizen must be declared 
in a court of record,* either State or national. Citizen- 
ship is also granted by such a court. 

A man's wife and children become citizens by his 
becoming a citizen. 

298. Racial Qualification. — No Chinese can become 
naturalized; but a Chinese child born in the United 
States is a " natural bom citizen" of the United States. 

This discrimination against the Chinese goes so far as to forbid 
any more of their race to come to the United States, except tem- 
porarily as students, travelers, government agents, or merchants 
pm^chasing goods. This law is due to a strong prejudice against 
Chinese cheap labor by the working men of California and other 
Western States, and a feeling that our racial complications are 
already sufficient. 

299. Territories. — The Constitution gives Congress 
power to "make all needful rules and regulations 
respecting the territory or other property belonging 
to the United States. " This allows Congress to exercise 

* The Circuit Court, for instance, either State or national, is a court of 
record. A Magistrate's or Mayor's court is not a court of record, although 
it now keeps a written record of its proceedings. In general, we may say 
that the higher, more powerful and important courts are courts of record. 



i8o CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

all powers of government in or over the territories.* 
In a territory Congress has all the power of both State 
and national governments. But even here Congress 
is not allowed to violate certain fundamental rights 
of the people in the territories, such as their freedom of 
religion or their right to be tried according to law or have 
counsel (lawyers) in their defense. To interfere with 
these things is not considered in our free country a 
just or needful power of government. 

300. Implied Powers. — You remember that the 
United States government can do only those things 
that the Constitution says it can do. But the govern- 
ment is free to do anything fairly included in one of 
the granted powers. For instance, it has the right 
to send ambassadors to foreign countries. This implies 
the right to buy a house in the foreign country for the am- 
bassador to live in, and the right to protect him, even 
by sending ships and troops into the foreign country 
if necessary. The government has the right to lay 
and collect taxes. This gives it the right to create a 
bank or build a treasury in which to keep the tax money. 
These are called ''implied powers," because, while they 
are not named in the Constitution, it is necessary to 

* Possibly some older reader than this book is written for may question, 
as certain eminent statesmen at one time did, that the clause cited grants 
the power stated. Suffice it to say that the Supreme Court (in the " insular 
cases," not to go further) declared that such a meaning is indubitable. The 
right to govern territory is implied also in certain other clauses of the 
Constitution. 



CHARACTER OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT l8l 

exercise them in order to do properly the things which 
are named. 

301. Sources of the National Constitution. — The 

State governments are older than the national govern- 
ment, so that the great men who wrote our national 
Constitution got most of their ideas from the State 
Constitutions. This was quite natural, and it was 
very wise ; for if certain plans of government had been 
found successful in the States and the people were 
already used to them, these same plans would doubtless 
work well in the national government. 

In 1787, all the States except Georgia and Pennsyl- 
vania had a legislature of two houses ; the f ramers of 
the national Constitution copied this from the States. 
They copied the words giving the President's veto 
power from the Constitution of Massachusetts. They 
got the method of electing the President from Mary- 
land. They kept in mind also the free government of 
England and tried to reproduce its best principles. 
We must remember also that the people of the States 
had brought their free institutions from England. 

302. One System. — Our national and State govern- 
ments taken together form one system. There is no 
dispute or rivalry between them. The people of the 
United States have given some powers to the United 
States government and some to the State govern- 
ments, because some things can be done best by one 



l82 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

and some by the other, and the result is that we enjoy 
greater freedom and prosperity than any other people 
in the world.* 

Table of the Principal Powers of the United States 
Government 



I. Taxes 



II. Commerce 



III. Foreign 

Relations 



IV. Territories 



1. Tariff on imports. 

2. Internal revenue (taxes on articles manu- 

factured or used in the United States). 

3. Land taxes (hardly ever used). 

4. Income taxes (hardly ever used). 

5. Any other taxes (hardly ever used). 

1. Foreign commerce. 

2. Inter-State commerce. 

3. Bankruptcy. 

4. Weights and measures. 

5. Money. 

1. War and peace. 

2. Army and navy. 

3. Ambassadors, ministers and consuls. 

4. Treaties. 

1. United S ates governmen can exercise 

all the powers of government in or 
over a territory; but 

2. Must not violate the fundamental per- 

sonal rights of the inhabitants. 



* It is not meant that nothing but our form of government is responsible 
for our prosperity. Comparison with other richly endowed countries with 
bad governments will, however, show how important is this factor in 
national well-being. 



Part I, — OOJie Legislative Department 

CHAPTER XXXV 

CONGRESS 

303. Congress. — The legislative department of the 
United States government consists of two sets of 
men, spoken of as the two houses of Congress. They 
are the Senate and the House of Representatives. 
The Senate is sometimes called the Upper House 
and the House of Representatives the Lower House. 

304. Nature of the Two Houses. — The Senate has 
(1906) only ninety- two members, and it is therefore 
much smaller than the House of Representatives, which 
has three hundred ninety-one. The Senators are 
usually older and more prominent men than the Rep- 
resentatives, and are men of greater influence. They 
are generally more quiet and prudent in their debates 
and acts. The Senate also has certain duties and 
powers which the House of Representatives has not. 
These differences will be plainer when we have studied 
each house separately in the next two chapters. 

305. Time of Meeting. — The Constitution requires 
that Congress must meet at least once a year and 
names the first Monday of December as the day; 
but Congress may fix another day if it chooses, or 



184 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF TEE UNITED STATES 

the President may call them to meet earlier. Con- 
gress has seldom changed the day, and the President 
has called them to meet earlier only a few times. 

Congress stays in session from the first Monday in December 
in odd years until the following summer. This is called the first 
session, or '■ long sess'on." It has a second session beginning 
the first Monday in December of even years and running through 
the third of the following March. This is called the "short 



306. Powers of Congress. — Congress has the power 
to pass laws about all the subjects in the table at 
the end of the last chapter. All the law-making 
power of the national government belongs to it 
alone. But remember, it can exercise no power not 
granted by the Constitution; and of course it must 
not do those things which the Constitution forbids. 
We may say in general that Congress is forbidden 
to pass any law which would violate the rights and 
liberties of the people. 

307. Agreement of the Two Houses. — A majority 
of both houses is necessary to pass any law. This 
is in order to prevent a bad or foolish law from being 
passed in carelessness, haste or anger by one house. 
After a bill has passed both houses of Congress it is 
sent to the President, and if he signs it, it becomes a law. 

308. The President's Veto. — If the President does 
not think the bill a good one he refuses to sign it, and 



CONGRESS 185 

returns it to Congress with the reasons for his refusal. 
Such an act is called vetoing a bill (Latin veto, I forbid) . 
Congress must read and consider his objections, and 
then vote whether it will pass the bill over his veto. 
To do this requires a two-thirds majority in each house. 
This it has succeeded in doing (1906) only twenty- 
nine times in the history of the United States, and 
fifteen of these cases were imder President Johnson 
during his violent dispute with Congress. 

If the President does not either sign or return the 
bill within ten days, not counting Simdays, it becomes 
a law without his signature, unless Congress has mean- 
time adjourned.* 

The reason the Constitution gives the President 
the right to veto a bill is because even with two Houses 
a bad bill or one contrary to the Constitution is some- 
times passed. The President is supposed to be a more 
than ordinarily wise and careful man, and it is hoped 
that he will prevent bad laws. The respect for the 
President is so great that even a bill that received 
more than a two-thirds vote in Congress nearly always 
fails to receive that many after the President has 
vetoed it. 

* For the President to prevent a bill passed less than ten days before the 
adjournment of Congress from becoming a law by simply keeping it in his 
pocket, as it were, is called the " pocket veto." 



1 86 CIVIL G0VERN3IENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

CHAPTER XXXVI 

THE SENATE 

309. Origin of the Senate. — When the Constitu- 
tion was formed, the large States desired that repre- 
sentation in both houses of Congress should be in 
proportion to population. But the small States, like 
Delaware and New Jersey, were afraid that under this 
plan they would be oppressed by the large States, 
who would outvote them in Congress. They de- 
manded, therefore, that in each house, each State, 
whether large or small, should have the same niimber 
of votes. It was agreed, as a compromise, that repre- 
sentation in the House of Representatives should be 
according to population, but that each State should 
send two members to the Senate. 

310. Numbers, Term and Salary. — ^There are now 
(1906) ninety-two Senators. They are elected for a term 
of six years; but only a third are elected in any one 
year. Every two years a third of the Senators are 
elected. In this way two-thirds of the Senate are old 
members, who have the benefit of at least four years of 
experience. This, added to the fact that Senators are 
generally re-elected, gives the Senate an advantage over 
the House of Representatives and the President. There 
is no such thing as a new and inexperienced Senate- 



THE SENATE 187 

The two Senators from a State are not elected in 
the same year. The salary of a Senator is $5,000 a 
year, traveling expenses from the Senator's home to 
Washington and back every time the Senate meets, 
and wages for a secretary * 

311. Qualifications. — A Senator must be thirty years 
old, a resident of the State he represents and a citizen 
for nine years of the United States. He is thus mature 
and experienced and has had time to become com- 
pletely identified with the country and its interests. 

312. Election. — Senators are elected by the Legis- 
lature of the State because they represent the whole 
State, and not any one part. A majority of the vote 
cast is necessary for election. 

In South Carolina Democratic candidates for the United States 
Senate (there have been no Republican candidates since 1872), 
are voted for in the Democratic primary elections described in 
sections 253 and 254. The candidate receiving a majority is 
declared to have received the nomination. As the Legislature in 
South Carolina is now Democratic, this candidate is elected 
Senator by the Legislature without opposition. 

313. Officers. — ^The Senate is presided over by the 
Vice-President of the United States, or in his absence 
by one of its own members, whom it elects. The 
Senate also elects a clerk, a number of assistant clerks, 
a chaplain and a number of other officers, such as are 
needed. None of these are members of the Senate. 

314. Committees. — ^The Senate works by committees 

* A Representative is allowed $1,200 for a secretary; a Senator $1,500. 



1 88 CIVIL OOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

in very much the same way as was explained in de- 
scribing the State Legislature (sections 13 i-i 33). 
The United States Senate at the beginning of each 
Congress elects forty-nine committees called "Stand- 
ing Committees," because they stand during the 
whole two years of the Congress. 

Each Senator is on several committees. The party 
that has a majority in the Senate allows some members 
of the opposite party on each committee, but always 
elects a majority of its own members, in order to con- 
trol the acts of the committee in the way their party 
desires. 

The most important committees are those on appro- 
priations, commerce, finance, foreign relations, interstate 
commerce, judiciary, military affairs and naval affairs. 

315. How the Senate Transacts Business. — All bills 
and most other matters which come up are handed 
over to the proper committees to be investigated and 
reported on. Most bills referred in this way are never 
heard of again; they are "killed in committee." As 
many bills are foolish and useless, the time of the 
Senate is saved. It is also true, however, that mem- 
bers frequently, in both houses, introduce useless and 
foolish bills for outside effect because they know that 
such bills will die in committee. 

When bills are reported by the committee to the 
Senate, they are discussed before the whole body. 



TEE SENATE 1 89 

There is more good debating in the Senate than in the 
House, for the reason that the Senate has so few mem- 
bers that each man who desires has time to discuss a 
bill fully. But the House is so large that it has very 
little time to listen to speeches unless they are short. 

316. The Three Readings. — The rule of Congress 
is the same as that of the State Legislature in requir- 
ing that each bill shall be read aloud by the clerk on 
three separate days in each house, so that nothing 
will be done hastily. 

317. Special Powers of the Senate. — In law-making 
the powers of the Senate are exactly the same as those 
of the House, except that it cannot introduce a bill 
to lay taxes, but must wait for the House to do this, 
just as is the case in the State Legislature (section 
130) . But the Senate has four powers which the House 
has not. These are: 

The right to confirm or reject by a majority vote 
all appointments by the President. 

To confirm or reject by a two-thirds vote all treaties 
with foreign nations made by the President. 

To elect the Vice-President if there is no election 
by the electoral college. 

To try impeachments against the President or any 
other civil officer* of the United States government 
and by a two-thirds vote find him guilty. 

*A civil officer is one not in the army or navy. 



I90 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Members of Congress cannot be impeached. To the present 
time (1906) only eight impeachments have ever been brought 
before the Senate, and only two of these were successful. One 
was against a drunken United States District Judge, in a time of 
great political bitterness, whom the party in power disliked, and 
the other was against a United States District Judge in Tennessee 
who joined the Confederates. So that impeachment has proved 
very difficult. 

Only one President has been impeached: Andrew Johnson. 
Conviction failed in his case; but if only one Senator who voted 
"not guilty" had voted "guilty," it would have succeeded. 

318. Great Senators. — The United States Senate has 
been one of the three most famous legislative bodies 
in the history of the world; the other two being the 
Senate of the ancient Roman Republic and the British 
House of Commons. Most of the great debates and 
famous speeches in the history of Congress have been 
in the Senate. Until 1859 it met in the small room 
now occupied by the Supreme Court. There Calhoun 
displayed his wonderful reasoning powers, Clay poured 
forth his burning oratory, and Webster uttered his 
unsurpassed masterpieces of eloquence. 

Besides these the Senate has been adorned with the learning, 
eloquence and patriotism of many other distinguished men: 
John M. Clayton of Delaware; William H. Crawford, Robert 
Toombs, Benjamin H. Hill and John B. Gordon of Georgia; 
Stephen A. Douglas of IlKnois; Judah P. Benjamin of Louisiana; 
James G. Blaine of Maine; Robert Goodloe Harper and William 
Pinkney of Maryland; John Quincy Adams, Rufus Choate, 
Charles Sumner and Edward Everett of Massachusetts; Jefferson 
Davis of Mississippi; Carl Schurz of Missouri; William H. 
Seward of New York; Zebulon B. Vance of North Carolina; 
John Sherman and Salmon P. Chase of Ohio; Pierce Butler, 



TEE SENATE IQI 

Charles Pinckney, Gen. Thomas Sumter, Robert Y. Hayne, 
William C. Preston, Wade Hampton, George McDuffie and 
James H. Hammond of South CaroHna; Andrew Jackson of 
Tennessee; James Monroe and John Randolph of Virginia. 

319. Reasons for the Senate's Influence. — The Senate 
and the Supreme Court have grown more influential 
than the founders of our government foresaw, while 
the President has gained little, and the House of 
Representatives has rather lost. In the conflicts 
over different policies which frequently occur between 
the Senate and the House or between the Senate and 
the President, the Senate generally attains the larger 
measure of success. In such contests the Senate 
rarely yields to anything short of an emphatic and 
persistent condemnation of its course by public opinion. 
Three reasons serve to explain the Senate's great 
influence : 

First, its special powers. By refusing to confirm 
appointments or treaties it can do a great deal to 
force the President to submit to its demands. 

Second, its small numbers. It is easier to hold a 
small number of men together and induce them to 
act in harmony. This helps the Senate greatly against 
the House with its larger numbers and divided counsels. 

Third, its length. of term and manner of renewal. 
The Senators are practically all public men of long 
experience. Many of them have formerly been mem- 
bers of the House, and so understand the ways and 



192 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

the weaknesses of that body. Many are successful 
business men of great wealth whose success over power- 
ful rivals in their business careers gives them skill and 
confidence in their contests with the President or the 
House. The fact that only a small number of the 
Senators are new Senators, as a Senator is usually 
re-elected, and that only a third of the body is elected 
at a time, makes the Senate a continuous body that 
never loses by a temporary dissolution any vantage 
ground once gained. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Give some arguments for the committee system of handling 
hills. 

2. Give some arguments against the committee system. 

3. Mention any objection to the great influence oj the Senate. 

4. Point out any benefits oj the Senate^s great infiuence. 

CHAPTER XXXVII 

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

320. Numbers, Terms, Salary. — The Lower House of 
the United States Congress is called the House of 
Representatives. It consists (1906) of three hundred 
and ninety-one members,* elected for a term of two 
years. A Representative can be re-elected any num- 
ber of times, and in South Carolina we generally 
re-e"'ect our Representatives several times; but taking 

* Oklahoma included. 



THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 



193 



^^ 



-. 5^ 






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-O. 



C — ; O 

- o <^£^ 
3 co o 

-^ (U <^ v^ 

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ir>- 



194 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

the country at large, only about half the Representa- 
tives are re-elected. This causes half the House always 
to be new, inexperienced men and gives the Senate 
a great advantage whenever there is any disagreement 
between the two houses. 

The salary is $5,000 a year, with traveling expenses 
from home and back every time Congress meets, and 
wages for a secretary. 

321. Qualifications. — The Constitution provides that 
a member of the House of Representatives must be 
twenty-five years of age, must have been a citizen of 
the United States for seven years, and must reside in 
the State from which he is elected. 

322. Apportionment.* — The House of Representa- 
tives does not consist of a fixed number from each 
State, like the Senate; each State sends one Repre- 
sentative (1906) for every 194,000 population. Tennes- 
see, for instance, has ten Representatives because she 
has, in round numbers, a population equal to ten times 
194,000. But every State must have at least one 
Representative, no matter how small its population. 
There are six States of this kind. New York, with 
her great population, sends thirty-seven. 

323. Election.— Each State is divided by its Legisla- 
ture into as many congressional districts as it is en- 

* Apportionment means dividing something among different persons or 
groups. 



THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES I95 

titled to elect Representatives. The people in each 
district elect a Representative by popular vote. The 
man getting the most votes is elected; a majority is 
not required. 

In South Carolina the Democrats nominate their Representa- 
tives in a primary election, just as they do other ofl&cers, and the 
man getting a majority in the primary is always elected, because 
nobody runs against him in the general election (sections 253-254). 

A Representative is not required by law to live in the district 
he represents; but the people in a district will not vote for an 
outsider, so custom requires the candidates to be residents of 
the district. Occasionally in a large city which is divided into 
two or more congressional districts, the people of one district 
have elected a Representative who lived in another district of 
the city. The United States is the only self-governing country in 
the world in which custom requires a Representative to live in 
the district he represents. 

324. Method of Work. — The House works in very 
much the same way as the Senate, except that it is 
much more hurried and confused on account of its 
larger membership, and depends more largely upon 
its committees than upon debate before the whole 
house. 

The hall of the House is so large, including its great gallery 
capable of seating 2,000 visitors, that only a strong voice can be 
heard. A great many more bills are introduced in the House 
than in the Senate, and this also compels the House to depend 
more upon committee work. As many as 14,328 bills and joint 
resolutions have been introduced in the House in one session of 
Congress. The Senators introduced only 5,318 during the same 
session. It is said * that less than one in thirty of the bills 

* Bryce, American Commonwealth, I, 137. 



19^ CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

introduced become laws. In some years, however, as many as one 
in ten or fifteen are passed.* 

325. Committees. — The House has 56 "standing 
committees," besides any special committees that 
may be needed. Bills, resolutions or other business 
are referred to the proper committee and are usually 
never heard of again. If the committee makes an 
tmfavorable report on any bill, the House usually 
decides against the bill; for it supposes that the com- 
mittee has investigated the matter carefully and has 
good reasons for reporting against it. If a bill is 
favorably reported, it has a good chance of being 
passed by the House. 

326. The Speaker. — ^The presiding officer of the 
House of Representatives is called the Speaker. He 
is elected at the beginning of each Congress and serves 
during both its terms, that is until a new Congress 
comes in two years later. The Speaker is selected 
from the principal leaders of the party in the majority 
in the House. 

327. Power of the Speaker. — ^The Speaker is the most 
powerful and important presiding officer in the world. 
It is sometimes said that the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives has more power than the President 
of the United States. Certainly a bold and able 
Speaker is more influential than a weak or timid 

* Ashley, American Federal State, 251. 



THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1 97 

President. There are three reasons why he is such 
an important officer: 

First, his appointing power. 

Second, his being chairman of the Committee on 
Rules. 

Third, his power to recognize whom he pleases. 

328. First, the Speaker's Appointing Power. — The 
Speaker appoints all the standing committees of the 
House, and usually the special committees. As the 
committees have such a great control over legislation, 
through their reports on bills, he can often secure 
almost any kind of legislation he pleases by appoint- 
ing men on the committees who will help or hinder 
certain kinds of laws. 

The Speaker in exercising this influence over the work of the 
House is really exercising it for the party that has a majority in 
the House; for they elect him because he will carry out their desires. 

329. Second, Chairman of the Committee on Rules. 

— ^The Speaker is chairman of the Committee on Rules, 
and as this is a small committee of only two other 
members, both of whom he appoints, he can have 
almost any rule made that he pleases, according to which 
the House must work. Of course the House must 
adopt the rules in order for them to have any force; 
but they usually adopt any that the committee re- 
quests. 

Examples of the rules of the House are: Speeches at certain 
times must no*^ be over five minutes long, at other times not over 



19^ CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

an hour; that a law must deal with only one subject, which must 
be stated in its title; that a member who is present is to be counted 
as present whether he answers the roll call or not; that standing 
committees shall be appointed by the Speaker; that members 
must not use abusive or indecent language in debate; that debate 
may be closed by a vote of the House at any time. 

330. Third, the Speaker Recognizes Whom He Pleases. 

— In most public bodies it is the duty of the presiding 
officer to allow that member to speak who first rises 
arid says, "Mr. Speaker." But that is not so in the 
House of Representatives. The Speaker can thus 
give a better chance to the strong and influential 
debaters on h^"s s"de and can prevent the time of the 
House from being wasted by insignificant men. He 
can also prevent the opposite side from getting its 
full share in the debate; but this is considered so 
unfair that the Speaker nearly always gives the mem- 
bers on both sides a chance to state their arguments. 

331. Special Powers of the House. — The House has 
three special powers which do not belong to the Senate. 

First, all bills to lay taxes must be begun by it, 
because its members are elected directly by the people 
who are taxed, and not, like the Senators, by the State 
Legislatures. 

Second, the House can impeach the President or any 
other civil officer of the United States government. 
The House draws up a formal charge, called articles 
of impeachment, against the officer and appoints 



THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 199 

several of its members to manage the case. They 
then go before the Senate and show by witnesses and 
speeches why the officer ought to be found guilty 
and removed from office. 

Third, if no candidate for President gets a majority 
in the electoral college, the House elects a President 
from the three candidates having the highest number 
of electoral votes. When the House has to perform 
this duty, as has twice been the case, the Representa- 
tives from each State decide among themselves whom 
they will vote for, and each State casts one vote. A 
majority of all the States in the Union is necessary 
to elect. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. How many congressional districts are there in your State? 

2. Who is your Congressman? 

3. Divide the population of your State by 194,000 and see how 
many Congressmen the State ought to have. Find out if this is 
really the number. 

4. Give some arguments in favor of requiring a Congressman 
to live in the district he represents. 

5. Give so?ne argmnents against requiring a Congressman to 
live in the district he represents. 

6. Who is now the Speaker of the House of Representatives? 
To what party does he belong? 

7. Can you think of any reasons that would tend to make the 
Speaker treat both Democrats and Republicans fairly? 



200 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 



OUTLINE REVIEW OF THE LEGISLATIVE DE- 
PARTMENT OF THE NATIONAL GOVERN- 
MENT 

Congress. 

Two houses (§303). 

Nature of the two houses (§ 304). 

Time of meeting (§ 305). 

Powers of Congress (§§ 306 and 283-300). 

Pre ident's veto (§§308; 343). 

The Senate. 

Origin of the Senate (§ 309). 

Number, term and alary of Senators (§310). 

Election of Senators (§312). 

Presided over by Vice-President (§ 313). 

Committees and their work (§§ 314-315). 

Bill must pass three readings to become law (§ 316). 

Special powers of the Senate (§317): 

Ratifying treaties. 

Confirming appointments. 

Trying impeachments. 

Electing Vice-President in case of no election by electors. 
Great influence of the Senate (§319). 

The House of Representatives. 

Number, term and salary of Representatives (§320). 
Apportionment and election of Representatives (§§ 322-323). 
Method of work (§324). 
Committees (§325). 

The Speaker and his great power (§§ 326-327): 
Appoints committees (§328). 



REVIEW OF LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 201 

Is Chairman of Committee on Rules (§329). 
Recognizes whom he pleases (§ 330). 

Special Powers of the House of Representatives (§ 331). 
Originates all tax bills. 

Possesses sole power of bringing impeachments. 
Elects President in case of no election by electors. 



Note on Amending the United States Constitution. — It is 
very difficult to amend, or change, the United States Constitution, 
and accordingly it has been very seldom done. The first twelve 
amendments were added a few years after the adoption of the 
Constitution to remedy what ^ere considered defects; the other 
three were adopted as the result of the war of Secession. The 
final power of adopting amendments rests with the States; but 
there are two ways in which amendments may be originated. 
The process is as follows : 

Congress may propose an amendment by the Senate and the 
House of Representatives, each passing it by a two-thirds vote. 
Congress then sends the amendment to the Legislature of each 
State or to a special convention called in each State, either way 
that Congress prefers. (It has always chosen to send the amend- 
ment to the Legislatures.) If three-fourths of the States approve, 
the amendment is adopted. 

This is the simplest way and the way that has always been 
used; but an amendment may also be proposed in the following 
way: If the Legislatures of two-thirds of the States demand it, 
Congress must call a national couTention to propose amendments. 
Any amendments originated in this way must be adopted by three- 
fourths of the States. It is this large proportion of the States whose 
ratification is required that makes amendment so difficult. 



I^art II. — The Executive Department 

CHAPTER XXXVIII 

THE PRESIDENT 

332. Undivided Executive Authority. — The executive 
authority is very differently placed in the national 
government from what it is in the State governments. 
You remember (section 148) that in the State govern- 
ment the executive work is distributed among a num- 
ber of officers, each of whom is independent of the 
others. Even the Governor has no control, but only 
a sort of oversight, over the heads of the different 
executive offices. 

In the United States government it is entirely differ- 
ent. The Constitution puts the whole executive 
department under the control of the President. The 
heads of the different executive offices are appointed 
and discharged by the President, and the country 
looks to him to use his power to secure honesty and 
efficiency in every branch of the executive work. 

333. Advantages of Concentrated Executive Authority. 
— ^The chief reasons which led the framers of our Con- 
stitution to adopt this system are that it makes ad- 
ministration more efficient, and it enables the people 



THE PRESIDENT 203 

to fix the responsibility for good or bad administration 
of the government definitely on one man. As his 
responsibility is so great, the President is very anxious 
to secure the very best men to attend to the different 
branches of the executive business. If the Post Office 
Department or the Department of War is badly ad- 
ministered, public opinion forces the President to 
discharge the imsatisfactory officer. But if the heads 
of the different executive offices were elected by the 
people, they could not be put out of office until the 
next election except by impeachment, and this is so 
difficult that it is practically never done. 

Another advantage of having the President responsi- 
ble for the whole executive department is that fre- 
quently men who make the best executive officers, 
and would therefore be likely to be appointed by the 
President, are men who could never succeed in be- 
ing elected by the people. 

334. Term. — The President is elected for four years. 
Almost without exception our ablest Presidents have 
been elected for a second term. Washington and 
Jefferson both refused to be elected for a third term, 
and their example is so much respected that the 
people have never been willing to elect any other 
President more than twice. 

335- Qualifications. — ^The President must be at 
least thirty-five years of age, and must have been 



204 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

bom a citizen of the United States. This is in order 
that the President may always be a man who thoroughly 
understands American institutions and will administer 
the government on American principles. No other 
officer besides the President and Vice-President is 
required to have been bom an American citizen. 

When the Constitution was adopted there were a number of 
noble patriots who had helped to win the country's freedom, 
such as Alexander Hamilton and Albert Gallatin, who were born 
in foreign countries, but had lived in America for many years. 
In order to make it possible for such men to be elected President 
the Constitution provided that any man of the required age who 
had lived in the United States for fourteen years at the time of 
the adoption of the Constitution (that is, since the year before the 
Revolution began) might be elected President. But no such man 
was ever even nominated. Of course all foreign born citizens 
who came to this country as early as 1774 are long since dead ; 
so that this clause of the Constitution has now no practical 
application. 

336. Salary. — The President receives a salary of 
$50,000 a year. This looks like a very large amount; 
but the expenses the President has to meet are so 
great that he generally goes out of office without 
having saved anything. 

Congress cannot change the salary during the Presi- 
dent's term; because if it could, it might bribe him 
by an increase or intimidate him by a reduction. 

337. Method of Election. — The framers of the Con- 
stitution thought that the masses of the people in a 
large country like ours would not know the leading 



THE PRESIDENT 20$ 

public men well enough to be able to make the wisest 
choice for President. They thought it would be best 
to have the President elected by a small number of 
leading citizens elected by the people for this pur- 
pose. These leading citizens would be likely to know 
the good and bad qualities of any candidate. Most 
likely they would know him personally. For these 
reasons the Constitution says that each State shall 
vote for a certain ntmiber of electors, who shall elect 
the President. 

Each State has as many Presidential electors as it 
has representatives in both houses of Congress. For 
instance, South Carolina has two Senators and seven 
members of the House of Representatives; therefore 
she elects nine Presidential electors. New York has 
thirty-seven members of the House of Representa- 
tives and two Senators, which gives her thirty-nine 
Presidential electors, the greatest number of any State. 

338. Election of the Presidential Electors. — Each 
State has the right to select its electors in any 
way it pleases, but for many years they have been 
elected by the people. At first in many States they 
were elected by the Legislature. South Carolina, in 
1868, was the last State to put the election of electors 
in the hands of the people.* 

* The Constitutional Convention of 1865 expressed its opinion that electors 
should be elected by the people, but did not put it in the Constitution. I 



206 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Presidential electors are elected every fourth year, 
because the President's term is four years. The year 
is one that can be divided evenly by four; for instance, 
1900, 1904, 1908, 191 2. Congress has fixed the day 
all over the United States as the Tuesday after the 
first Monday in November. 





Presidential Electors. 


T. 


J. 


CUNNINGHAM. 


GEORGE JOHNSTONE. 


M. 


P. 


HOWELL. 


B. 


W. 


CROUCH. 


H. 


H. 


WATKINS. 


W 


T. 


JETER. 


W 


M 


SHANNON. 


OLIN 


SAAVYER. 


A. 


W. 


SUMMERS. 



Democratic electoral ballot used in South Carolina in 1904. 

339. How the Electors Elect the President. — ^The 
men who have been chosen electors go to the State 
capital in the following January and vote for a man 
for President and one for Vice-President. They send 

thank Mr. J. S. Reynolds for this information. The Constitution of 1865 
was soon overthrown by Congress's "Great Reconstruction Act" of 1867. 



THE PRESIDENT 207 

the record of their vote to Washington, where it is 
locked up in an iron safe. In February the Senate 
comes into the hall of the House of Representatives, 
and in the presence of both houses the votes of all 
the States are counted. The man who gets a majority 
is elected. 

340. Election by the House of Representatives. — It 

has happened twice that no candidate received a 

majority of the electoral vote. The Constitution 

provides that in that case the House of Representatives 

shall elect the President from the three candidates 

who received the highest number of electoral votes. 

For instance, in 1824 Jackson received 99 votes, 

Adams, 84, Crawford, 41, and Clay, 37. The House 

of Representatives then had to elect either Jackson, 

Adams or Crawford. They elected Adams. 

In voting for President, the Representatives from each State 
decide which candidate they will cast the vote of their State for. 
Thus each State has only one vote. In an election by the House 
a candidate must receive the votes of a majority of all the States 
in the Union in order to be elected. 

341. Inauguration. — On the 4th of March (or the 
5th if the 4th comes on Sunday) after his election, 
the President takes the following oath or affirmation: 
" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully 
execute the office of President of the United States, 
and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect 
and defend the Constitution of the United States." 



208 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

He then reads publicly a paper declaring what objects 
he proposes to accomplish and how he intends to treat 
different matters which are before the country. This 
is called his inaugural address. 

342. Duties. — The duties of the President are, in 
general, to see that the laws are faithfully executed. 
He has full power to do this, for the whole executive 
power is in his hands. Besides these general duties, 
he has any particular executive duties which the law 
may lay upon him. Besides these he has certain other 
powers which it is his duty to exercise to the best 
interests of the country. 

343. Veto. — ^The Constitution gives the President 
the right to veto any bill passed by Congress. This 
has already been explained in section 308. The early 
Presidents used the veto only when they thought a 
bill was unconstitutional; but now the President 
vetoes a bill for that or any other reason he chooses. 
The veto power has been wisely used, and has pro- 
tected the country against some very hasty and harm- 
ful laws. The veto power does not enable the Presi- 
dent to force any bad law on the country ; but it does 
enable him to keep Congress from so doing. It is 
not likely that the President will use his power to 
prevent a good law. 

344. Treaties. — ^A treaty is a written agreement 
between two or more countries, in which they do or 



THE PRESIDENT 209 

promise to do certain things. For instance, by the 
treaty of peace in 1898 Spain gave us the Philippine 
Islands and Porto Rico and set Cuba free, and we 
agreed to pay Spain $20,000,000. In a treaty in 1842 
England and the United States promised to surrender 
any murderers or burglars who escaped from one 
country to the other. 

345. The Treaty Making Power. — ^The President has 
the right to make all treaties ; but, as we learned in 
section 317, no treaty becomes law or has any force 
until the Senate agrees to it by a two-thirds vote. 

Originally the Senate left the President to make treaties very 
much as he chose, and confirmed the treaties when presented to 
it, unless they contained some bad feature; but soon the Senate 
began to compel the President to consult it all along while 
making the treaty. If he does not do this the Senate will almost 
certainly refuse its confirmation. 

346. Appointing Power. — The Constitution gives the 
President the right to appoint all officers in the army 
and navy and in the different executive offices, sub- 
ject to confirmation by a majority vote of the Senate. 
Congress may, however, pass laws giving the courts 
or the heads of the different executive departments 
or the President himself the right to appoint the less 
important officers without confirmation. 

347. "Senatorial Courtesy. ^^ — As the Senate must confirm 
appointments by the President, it can often compel him to ap- 
point the men it wants by refusing to confirm anybody else. 



2IO CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

This makes the President's real power much less than it appears. 
The Senators from the different States, if they belong to the same 
political party as the President, insist on his taking their advice 
in many cases and appointing their friends to offices in their 
States. The Senators have come to stand by each other in this, 
and so largely control the President's appointments. This is 
called "Senatorial courtesy." 

The Senate has never attempted, however, to deny the Presi- 
dent full freedom in he appointment of members of his cabinet 
except during its struggles with President Jackson and President 
Johnson. 

348. Civil Service Reform is a movement to secure the appoint- 
ment of officers on account of merit instead of on account of their 
holding certain political views or being the favorite of some 
official or politician. It has already greatly improved the char- 
acter of thousands of the government officials and is sure to do 
great good by putting better and better men into appointive 
positions. 

Anybody who chooses can stand examinations before he gov- 
ernment, and the appointments to these offices which are under 
the Civil Service Reform rule must be made from those who stand 
the best examinations. So long as they perform their duties 
faithfully and well they cannot be discharged. 

349. The Vice-President. — The Vice-President is 
elected at the same time as the President and must 
have the same qualifications, as he may at any time 
become President. In case the President dies, resigns, 
is removed by impeachment or is permanently unable, 
on account of illness, to attend to his duties, the Vice- 
President exercises the duties of President. The 
Vice-President has never been called upon to exercise 
these duties except because of the death of the Presi- 
dent; this has occurred five times. 

350. Law of Succession. — After the Vice-President 



THE PRESIDENT 2II 

becomes President there is nobody to take his place 
as Vice-President. The Senate simply is presided 
over by one of its own members. 

If the President and Vice-President both die, the 
Secretary of State becomes President; if he dies, the 
Secretary of Treasury; if he dies, the Secretary of 
War; and so on through the Attorney-General, the 
Postmaster-General, the Secretary of the Navy and 
the Secretary of the Interior. If a cabinet officer 
has not yet been confirmed by the Senate, or is not 
thirty-five years old and a native born citizen, he is 
skipped in the succession. 

This law was passed in 1886. Before that time there was 
another arrangement, not at all good, under which serious con- 
fusion might have arisen; but now there is no reasonable possi- 
bility of the country's being left without a President. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Why is a strong President not likely to get along well with 
the Sena'e? 

2. Has there ever been a President from South Carolina? 

3. Has there ever been a Vice-President from South Carolina? 

4. Have Vice-Presidents who have succeeded to the Presidency 
made satisfactory Presidents? 

5. Is the Vice-Presidency a good or had arrangement? Why? 

6. Find out some Federal officers that are under Civil Service 
Reform rules. 



212 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

CHAPTER XXXIX 

THE president's CABINET 

351. Definition. — The cabinet is a body of nine men 
whom the President appoints to attend to the different 
branches into which the executive business has been 
divided. 

352. Why Necessary. — No one man could attend 
to all the vast executive business of a great govern- 
ment. For this reason the President, whose duty 
it is to see that it is all attended to, has to appoint 
his cabinet to help him. The work of each cabinet 
officer even is so great that he has to have several 
officers to divide it with him, each of whom has many 
subordinates under him. 

The cabinet does not relieve the President of any 
of his responsibilities as chief executive. Each cabinet 
officer is responsible for the faithful discharge of his 
own duties, and can be punished for violating the laws. 
The President cannot be punished for wrongs done 
by a cabinet officer ; but he is responsible for the officer 
in the sense that he must watch him and discharge 
him in case he is not honest or efficient. 

353. The Executive Departments. — ^The business 
under the charge of a cabinet officer is called an execu- 
tive department. There are at present (1906) nine: 



THE PRESIDENT'S CABINET 21 3 

The Department of State, under the Secretary of 
State (created in 1789*). 

The Treasury Department, under the Secretary 
of the Treasury (created in 1789). 

The War Department, under the Secretary of War 
(created in 1789). 

The Department of Justice, under the Attorney- 
General (organized as a department in 187 1, though 
the Attorney-General has been a member of the cab- 
inet since 1789). 

The Postofhce Department, under the Postmaster- 
General (created in 1794, but the head of this depart- 
ment was not recognized as a cabinet officer until 
1829). 

The Navy Department, under the Secretary of the 
Navy (created in 1798). 

The Interior Department, under the Secretary of 
the Interior (created in 1849). 

The Department of Agriculture, under the Secretary 
of Agriculture (created in 1888). 

The Department of Commerce and Labor, under 
the Secretary of Commerce and Labor (created in 

1903)- 

354. Appointment, Term, Salary. — The cabinet 
officers are appointed by the President. They must 

* The dates are for reference, not for memorizing. 



214 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

be confirmed by a majority vote in the Senate; but 
it is so important that the President be free to choose 
his advisers that the Senate has never refused its 
confirmation except on a few occasions during violent 
disputes with the President. 

The President can discharge a member of his cabinet 
for any reason that he sees fit, without anybody's 
consent or advice. This is right, because the Con- 
stitution gives the whole executive power and re- 
sponsibility to the President, and he cannot meet 
these great duties properly unless he is free to dis- 
charge his counselors and assistants and have them 
attend to the executive business in the way he thinks 
best. 

The salary of a cabinet officer is $8,000. 

355. Advisers of the President. — The President may 
ask the advice of the whole cabinet or any member 
on any government question. He can require a mem- 
ber to give his opinion in writing on any matter con- 
nected with his own department. 

It is customary for the President to have a meeting 
of the cabinet once a week, at which matters of im- 
portance are discussed. After full debate, a vote is 
often taken to find what the majority of the cabinet 
think; but this does not bind the President. He 
can refuse to take their advice ; they are his counselors 
and assistants, not his masters. It is sometimes the 



THE PRESIDENTS CABINET 21 5 

case, however, that several members of the cabinet 
are wiser and greater men than the President, and by 
their influence enable him to be a much better Presi- 
dent than he could be by his own wisdom alone. Some 
of our weakest Presidents have had the advice of some 
of our greatest statesmen as members of their cab- 
inet. 

356. Relation to Congress. — The head of each execu- 
tive department knows, or should know, more than 
anybody else about the needs and best interests of 
his department and how it can be made of most 
benefit to the country. For this reason, and also in 
order that Congress may know the condition of the 
executive business, each secretary makes a report 
every year to Congress. The report gives an account 
of what has been done and makes suggestions and 
requests as to any needed improvements. 

Congress can at any time investigate any depart- 
ment. It does this when a department is suspected 
of wrong-doing. 

357. Great Men Who Have Been Cabinet Officers. — 
Many of our greatest men have failed to be elected 
President, as Hamilton, Calhoun, Clay and Webster. 
But almost all our greatest statesmen have served 
their country in the cabinet. Jefferson, Marshall, 
Madison, Clay, Webster, Calhoun, Seward, Blaine 
and Hay have been Secretary of State; Hamilton, 



2l6 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Gallatin and Taney have been Secretary of the Treas- 
ury; Calhoun, Jefferson Davis and U. S. Grant have 
been Secretary of War. 

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Who are the six South Carolinians who have been cabinet 
officers? (The New York World Almanac contains much infor- 
mation of this kind.) 

2. Cite cases in which the President was inferior as a statesrnan 
to one of his cabinet. 

3. What influence has his cabinet on the success of a President's 
administration ? 

CHAPTER XL 

THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

358. Foreign Affairs. — Every country has certain 
relations and business with other countries. This 
may be illustrated by two neighboring families. Some 
of these relations are pleasant, such as two families 
agreeing to have a picnic together, to build a fence 
between their places or use the same well. Some are 
unpleasant, such as disputes arising on account of 
their children's fighting each other, or one family's 
interfering with the other's rights. 

It is just this way with nations. They have to 
agree about disputed boundary lines, see that their 
citizens are treated fairly when in foreign countries, 



THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE 21/ 

and decide as to rules governing ships at sea, and so 
forth. All these are foreign affairs, and in the United 
States their management is entrusted to the Secretary 
of State. 

359. Principal Duties of the Secretary of State. — 
The Secretary of State receives the representatives 
whom other countries send to the United States to 
look after their interests, and sends instructions and 
advice to our officers who attend to our interests in 
foreign countries. 

360. The Diplomatic Service. — The officers whom 
our government sends to foreign countries to represent 
this government and protect the interests of our 
citizens are called the diplomatic service. They have 
charge of matters arising between the government 
of our country and the countries to which they are 
sent. 

361. Grades. — The United States has three grades 
of diplomatic officers, according to the importance of 
the countries to which they are sent. 

First, there are Ambassadors. There are (1906) 
seven of these, one sent to each of the following coun- 
tries: Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great 
Britain, Italy, Mexico and Russia. The full title 
is "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary." 

Second, there are twenty-nine bearing the title 
"Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary." 



2l8 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

These are sent to countries like Spain, Peru, and so 
on down. 

Third, to three insignificant countries we send 
"Ministers Resident." 

Sometimes when the President cannot secure 
just the man he wants, or for some other reason, 
he appoints instead of an ambassador or minister a 
"charge d'affaires" (pronounced sharzhay daffair), 
which means, " one in charge of affairs." The " charge 
d'affaires" usually holds office only a few months 
until a regular ambassador or minister is appointed. 

362. Appointment. — All diplomatic officers are ap- 
pointed by the President, and may be discharged by 
him at any time. The President's power to discharge 
is necessary, because a minister who becomes dis- 
satisfied or opposes the President's ideas cannot be 
trusted to carry out his wishes. Ambassadors and 
ministers are not appointed to act according to their 
own views, but simply to conduct the government's 
affairs with foreign countries in the way directed by 
the Chief Executive, the President. 

363. The Secretary of State and the Diplomatic 
Service. — All instructions to the diplomatic officers 
are sent by the Secretary of State, and they in turn 
report to him. The President keeps a general control, 
but has the Secretary of State to attend to all the 
details. 



THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE 219 

364. Freedom Allowed the Secretary. — The Presi- 
dent allows the Secretary of State considerable freedom 
in conducting our foreign relations. He tells the 
Secretary what general objects and principles he is 
to pursue and constantly advises with him on im- 
portant matters; but he does not usually interfere 
with the particular words or acts of the Secretary. 
We see the wisdom of this method when we remember 
that almost every one of our wisest and greatest states- 
men has been Secretary of State, as Jefferson, Marshall, 
Madison, Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Clay, Webster 
and Calhoun. 

365. Treaties. — The Secretary of State has direct 
charge in the forming of treaties. A treaty is a written 
agreement between governments, and forms a part 
of the law of the countries signing it. When treaties 
between the United States and any other country 
are made in Washington, the Secretary of State usually 
attends to the work in person; when they are made 
in some foreign country, he acts through the diplo- 
matic officer sent for the purpose. 

366. The Consular Service. — The next most impor- 
tant duty of the Secretary of State is to direct the 
consular service. This he does in the same way as 
he does the diplomatic service. 

A consul is an officer sent to a foreign country to 
guard the business interests of his fellow citizens 



220 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

abroad, to keep his government informed on trade 
conditions, and to increase his country's foreign com- 
merce. Diplomatic officers are entrusted with the 
business arising between governments: consuls attend 
to business concerning private citizens. Only one 
ambassador or minister is sent to each country , but 
a consul is sent to every important city. 

367. Other Duties of Consuls. — When an American 
dies abroad, if no member of his family is present, it 
is the consul's duty to take charge of his property 
and turn it over to the proper persons at home. If 
a sailor on an American vessel is wronged by anyone 
on the ship, he may complain to the consul, who may 
punish the wrong-doer or send a report of the matter 
to the American government, so that the guilty person 
may be punished when he returns to the United States. 

In certain badly governed countries whose courts 
cannot be trusted to do justice, the consul tries all 
cases in which an American in that country may be 
involved; and moreover the consul judges the case 
by American law. This is called extra-territoriality. 

368. Lesser Duties of the Secretary of State. — The 
Secretary of State keeps the original records of all 
laws and treaties. The Declaration of Independence, 
just as Jefferson wrote it, the original copy of the treaty 
which closed the Revolutionary war and acknowl- 
edged our independence, the original copy of the Con- 



THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT 221 

stitution, with the signatures of Washington and the 
rest, and hundreds of other interesting and important 
documents are in his office. 

He also keeps the great seal of the United States 
and stamps it on all papers for which it is required. 



CHAPTER XLI 

THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT 

369. The United States Treasury Department is in 

charge of a cabinet officer called the Secretary of the 
Treasury. His duties are of the same general nature 
as those of any ordinary treasurer and comptroller- 
general combined, only larger and more difficult. He 
sees to the collection, safekeeping and paying out of 
the government's money. This is a very serious 
responsibility, involving about five hundred million 
dollars of cash every year; but the office has been 
conducted with such honesty and ability that the 
government has never suffered any serious loss in 
its Treasury Department. 

370. The Mint is the place where the government 
takes gold, silver, nickel and copper and makes them 
into money. It is one of the most important branches 
of the Treasury Department. 

371. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is 



222 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

another important branch of the Treasury Depart- 
ment. In it the paper money and stamps are printed. 

372. National Banks. — National banks are those 
banks that are conducted under the laws and regula- 
tions of the United States government, instead of 
the laws of some particular State. They are under 
the oversight of an officer of the Treasury Department 
called the Comptroller of the Currency. He sees that 
they are properly managed and obey the law. 

373. The Secretary of the Treasury and Congress. 
— It is so important that the people be kept in im- 
mediate touch with the management of the money 
affairs of the government that the report of the Secre- 
tary of the Treasury is sent direct to Congress, and 
not through the hands of the President. Congress 
exercises a closer control over this department than 
any other. 

Also the Secretary of the Treasury is expected to 
give advice and information to Congress as to how 
much revenue is needed, by what sort of taxes it can 
best be raised, and by what plans the national debt 
ought to be managed and paid. 

The Secretary of the Treasury is second in rank 
in the cabinet; but his work is usually the most bur- 
densome and is in some respects the most important. 



OTHER CABINET OFFICERS 223 

CHAPTER XLII 

OTHER CABINET OFFICERS 

374. The names of the other executive departments 
as given in section 353 suggest their duties so plainly 
that not much explanation is needed. 

375. The War Department and the Navy Department 
have charge of the army and na\^. It is their duty 
to keep up with the latest improvements in weapons, 
powder, ships, and everything else tending to improve 
the fighting power of soldiers and sailors. The Secre- 
tary of War has general oversight over the military 
academy at West Point, where the officers of the army 
are educated. The Secretary of the Navy has oversight 
over the naval academy at Annapolis, where the offi- 
cers who are to command our ships of war are trained. 

376. Assignment oj Students at West Point and Annapolis. 
— Each State sends, at the expense of the United States govern- 
ment, as many young men to West Point as it has members of 
both Houses of Congress. Each territory, the District of Co- 
lumbia and Porto Rico also send one each. In addition to these 
the President appoints forty, making a total (1906) of 522. Each 
State and Territory and district sends twice as many to Annapolis 
as to West Point and the President appoints five each year, mak- 
ing the number at Annapolis about twice that at West Point. 

377. The Secretaries During War. — In time of war 
the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy 
become very important officials because of their in- 
creased responsibilities. However, they can control 



224 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

the movement of the army and navy only as approved 
by the President, as they, like all other cabinet officers, 
are simply his subordinates. 

378. The Postoffice Department. — ^The Postoffice De- 
partment is directed by the Postmaster-General. He 
has control of the mail service of the country. A wise 
and skilful administration of its thousands of routes 
can have great influence on the prosperity and in- 
telligence of the people. Its object is not to make 
money for the government, but to carry mail in the 
cheapest and quickest way possible for the benefit 
of the people. 

379. The Department of Justice. — At the head of 
this department is the Attorney-General. The duty 
of this officer is, when requested, to advise the Presi- 
dent and the other executive officers as to the meaning 
of the law, and to prosecute offenders against the 
United States government. He is especially charged 
with enforcing the laws against trusts and against dis- 
honest public officers. For these reasons he is given 
direction over the seventy-odd United States District 
Attorneys throughout the country, whom he uses as 
assistants in the performance of the duties mentioned 
in the last sentence. 

380. The Department of Agriculture. — This depart- 
ment, of vast importance to a nation whose prosperity 
depends so largely upon the cultivation of the soil, has 



OTHER CABINET OFFICERS 225 

as its object the improvement of fanning. It conducts 
experiments for the purpose of showing what plants 
grow best in different soils, what seeds and manures 
bring the largest crops, and so forth. Some of the 
most important branches of its work are the preserva- 
tion of our forests; the study of harmful insects and 
methods for getting rid of them; and the weather 
bureau, by which truck farmers, fruit raisers and sea 
captains are enabled to guard against frost, freezes 
and storms. 

381. The Department of Commerce and Labor. — 
This youngest but very important department studies 
the conditions of working people in different trades 
and suggests improvements. It investigates trusts, 
corporations and strikes so as to discover the best 
methods for controlling them. One of its most im- 
portant duties is the managing of the census. 

The stupendous values represented by our agricul- 
tural and manufacturing wealth are now about equal 
and comprise a body of riches beyond anything ever 
possessed by any nation in history. The two executive 
departments devoted to their interests have a noble 
mission for the well-being of the country. Taken 
together they might well be called the departments 
of peace, industry and prosperity. They are worthy 
of the best talent and patriotism at the command of 
the government. 



2 26 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

OUTLINE REVIEW OF THE EXECUTIVE DE- 
PARTMENT OF THE NATIONAL GOVERN- 
MENT 

The President. 

Undivided Executive authority (§ 332). 

Its advantages (§333). 
Term of the Presiden (§334). 
Qualifications (§ 335). 
Method of electing President (§§337-340). 

Apportionment o electors (§337). 

Reason for adoption of this method of election (§337). 

Electing the electors (§338). 

Election of the President by the electors (§339). 

Election of President by House of Representatives if 
electors fail to elect (§ 340). 
Inauguration (§ 341). 
Duties C§ 342). 
Veto (§ 343; also § 308). 

Negotiates treaties, subject to the Senate's ratification (§ 345). 
Appoints numerous officers, subject to the Senate's confir- 
mation (§ 346). 

Civil service reform and the purification of politics 
(§ 348). 
The Vice-President (§ 349). 

Succeeds to the Presidency if President dies, etc. 

Presides over the Senate. 
Law of succession to the Presidency (§350). 

The President's Cabinet. 

The various executive departments (§ 353). 
Appointment, term and salary of cabinet officers (§354). 



REVIEW OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 227 

Cabinet officers the advisers of the President (§355). 
Reports of cabinet officers sent to Congress (§ 356). 

Department of State. 

Nature of foreign affairs (§358). 

Presided over by the Secretary of State (§§ 358-359). 
Negotiates treaties (§ 365). 
Supervises the diplomatic service (§§ 363-364). 

Duties of diplomatic officers (§ 360). 
Supervises consuls (§ 366). 

Duties of consuls (§§ 366-367). 

The Treasury Department. 

Presided over by the Secretary of the Treasury (§ 369). 
The mint (§370). 
National banks (§ 372). 

Intimate relations of the Secretary of the Treasury with 
Congress (§ 373). 

Other Cabinet Officers. 

The Secretary of War (§ 375). 

West Point MiHtary Academy (§ 376). 
The Secretary of the Navy (§ 375). 

Naval Academy at AnnapoKs (§ 376). 
The Postoffice Department (§378). 
The Department of Justice (§ 379). 
The Department of Agriculture (§ 380), 
The Department of Commerce and Labor (§ 381). 



Part III.— The Judiciary Department 

CHAPTER XLIII 

THE UNITED STATES COURTS 

382. The Two Governments of the American System. 

— Every American lives under two governments and 
two sets of laws — those of the State and those of the 
Nation. These are parts of one system; but each 
has its own complete and separate set of officers. We 
have learned of the State chief executive, called the 
Governor, and the national executive, called the Presi- 
dent; of the State legislature and the national Con- 
gress. You remember that we learned that the State 
has also a number of Judges, who interpret and ad- 
minister the law. Just so the national government 
has a number of Judges who hold the United States 
courts. 

383. Duties of the United States Courts. — The United 
States courts try cases which could not be fairly or 
properly tried in State courts. When the nature of 
these cases is explained, you will see how necessary 
it is to have them tried in the United States courts. 
These cases fall into three classes: 

First, cases which the United States courts try 



THE UNITED STATES COURTS 229 

because of the kind of law governing the case ; second, 
cases which they try on account of the persons in- 
volved in the case; and third, cases which they try 
on account of the place in which the case arises. We 
may say briefly that the United States courts try a 
case on account of the law, person or place. 

384. First, Cases on Account of the Nature of the 
Law Governing the Case. — If anyone claims a certain 
right under the national Constitution, it is reasonable 
that the national courts should be the ones to explain 
the true meaning of the Constitution and say whether 
or not the person is right in claiming that the United 
States Constitution guarantees him the right he claims. 
Otherwise, the Constitution might be wrongly inter- 
preted and citizens deprived of the rights which it 
guarantees. The same thing is true regarding laws 
and treaties made by the United States government. 
AVe may say, then, that the United States courts try 
cases in which either person in the case claims a right 
under the United States Constitution, laws or treaties. 

385. Second, Cases on Account of the Parties to the 
Case.* — If a citizen of one State should have a dispute 
with a citizen of another State, it would be very likely 
that the court of either State would be prejudiced in 
favor of its own citizen. For instance, a South Carolin- 

* The persons on the opposite sides in a case are called the parties to the 
I case or suit. 



230 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

ian would fear that if he brought a case against a citizen 
of Ohio in an Ohio court, the court would decide un- 
fairly in favor of the Ohio man. But the United 
States court does not belong to either State ; it is not 
likely to be prejudiced in favor of either side. For 
this reason, the United States courts try cases between 
citizens of different States. For the same reason they 
try cases between a foreigner and a citizen of any 
State. States themselves sometimes have cases against 
each other or against citizens of other States. For 
instance, one State recently refused to pay an old debt 
to another State. In order to escape local prejudices, 
these cases are tried before the United States courts.* 
Cases involving ambassadors, ministers or consuls of 
foreign countries are tried in the United States 

courts, t 

386. Third, Cases on Account of the Place in which 
the Case Arises. — If a crime is committed on an Ameri- 
can vessel at sea, or if a civil case is brought up on 
account of any act or fact which happened on an 
American vessel at sea, the case is tried by the United 
States courts, for the reason that the occurrence does 

* A case in which two States or a State and a foreign coun^try are the 
parties cannot be tried in any United States court except the Supreme Court. 
A case begun l>y a private individual against a State cannot be tried in the 
United States courts, but a case of a State against a private individual not a 
citizen of that State can be. 

f Cases bi-ought against one of these can be tried only in the Supreme Court. 



THE UNITED STATES COURTS 23 1 

not fall within the limits of any State. Only the 

national government can keep order or punish crime 

on the high seas.* 

The courts in the District of Columbia and in the territories, 
though under the control of Congress, are not a part of the system 
known as the Federal courts, or, as commonly called, United 
States courts. 

387. Criminal and Civil Cases. — Just as in the State 
courts (sections 206-7), so in the United States courts 
there are two kinds of cases, criminal and civil. A 
criminal case is one in which a person is tried for vio- 
lating the law ; a civil case is one in which two or more 
persons are in dispute about their rights or duties 
toward each other. Examples of criminal offenses 
which are tried in the United States courts are dis- 
tilling whisky contrary to law, smuggling goods into 
the United States without paying the tariff, robbing 
the mails, and violation of the national bank law by 
officers of national banks. The civil cases tried by 
United States courts are of very much the same char- 
acter as those tried by the State courts. 

388. Similarity of State and United States Courts. — 
The method of trying cases is very much the same 

* Each nation has jurisdiction over cases arising on its own vessels upon 
the high seas. For all intents and purposes the vessel carrying the national 
flag is treated as national territory. Pirates carry the flag of no nation, and 
therefore have the protection of no nation. They are, in the language of 
the law, " the enemies of mankind," and are punished with death by the 
courts of any nation which arrests them. 



232 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

as in the State courts. Grand juries, petit juries, 
lawyers and judges in the United States courts per- 
form the same duties as in the State courts. The 
administration of the law is generally more strict in 
United States courts, for the reason, first, that the 
juries very rarely know the persons concerned in the 
case, and so are not influenced by personal feelings 
toward them, as often occurs in the State courts where 
all of the persons concerned live in the same county; 
and, second, that the United States judges hold office 
for life and so are free from the fear of offending per- 
sons who might defeat them for re-election. 

389. Grades of United States Courts. — ^There are four 
grades of United States courts.* First, there are the 
District Courts; next are the Circuit Courts; above 
both these are the Circuit Courts of Appeal, and above 
these and highest of all is the United States Supreme 
Court. The least important cases are tried in the 
District Courts; the most important in the Supreme 
Court. 

390. The United States District Court. — Each of the 
smaller or less populous States forms a judicial dis- 
trict, while the large and populous States are divided 
into two or more districts ; but every district lies wholly 
within one State. In each district there resides a 

* The Court of Claims and the Court of Private Land Claims, each 
created for a special class of cases, do not come under this classification. 



THE UNITED STATES COURTS 233 

United States District Judge, who presides over the 
United States District Court in his district.* There 
is only one District Judge in each district, but, for 
the convenience of the people, he may hold court at 
several places in the same district. In the District 
of South Carolina, for instance, the District Court is 
held in Charleston, Columbia, Florence and Greenville. 

391. The United States Circuit Court. — ^The whole 
country is divided into nine circuits, as represented 
in the accompanying map. One or two United States 
Circuit Judges reside in each circuit. A nimiber of 
States taken together make up a circuit. For instance, 
Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina 
and South Carolina form the fourth circuit. In this 
circuit there are two Circuit Judges. The Circuit 
Judge goes through his circuit holding the Circuit 
Court, usually at each place at which the District 
Court is held.f 

392. Jurisdiction of District and Circuit Courts. — 
The cases which may be tried by the Circuit Court 
are of two classes: First, most of the cases which fall 
within the jurisdiction of the United States Courts 
may be tried in either the District or the Circuit Court, 



* In a few of the least populous districts, however, one Judge serves two 
districts. 

f The District Judge may lawfully hold the Circuit Court in his district, 
and as a matter of fact frequently does. 



234 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

as suits the convenience of the person bringing the 
case to trial.* Second, there are certain more impor- 
tant cases which the District Court may not try, but 
which must be carried to the Circuit Court. 

393. The Circuit Court of Appeals. — After being 
tried in the District or Circuit Court, important cases 
may, if either side desires, be carried to the United 
States Circuit Court of Appeals. There is one of these 
courts in each Circuit, which meets at one place in the 
circuit, as, for instance, Richmond in the fourth circuit. f 

There is no separate judge for the Circuit Court of Appeals. 
It is held by three (or two, if one is absent) judges drawn from the 
Supreme, the Circuit and the District Courts. Thus its judges 
vary greatly for different sessions of the court. 

394. The Supreme Court. — If the case has been de- 
cided the same way in both the courts so far, it is not 
likely that this decision will be reversed by the Supreme 
Court. And yet either side, if the case is of sufficient 
importance, can appeal to the United States Supreme 
Court. The Supreme Court may confirm or reverse 
the decision of the court below. Its decision is final; 
after being decided in the Supreme Court, a case can- 
not be tried anywhere else. 

* /. e., these courts have concurrent jurisdiction in these cases. See 
second footnote to section 205. 

f Notice that the United States Circuit Court cannot hear appeals from 
the District Court, although it is a higher court. Its appellate jurisdiction 
over the District Court was taken away on the establishment of the Circuit 
Court of Appeals in i8gi. 



THE UNITED STATES COURTS 235 

395. Appointment of Judges. — All United States 
judges are appointed by the President and hold their 
positions for life, unless they resign or are convicted 
upon impeachment. Only two have been displaced by 
impeachment. This method of appointment and ten- 
ure has secured excellent judges, for the reason that it 
has made the President very careful in his selections 
and has made the judges independent of fear, favor 
or politics in doing their duty. 

396. United States District Attorney. — This officer 
performs the same duties in the United States Courts 
that the Solicitor does in the State courts (section 214). 

He attends the District and Circuit Courts and con- 
ducts the trials against all persons who are accused 
of violating the laws of the United States. It is his 
duty to see that all the facts proving the guilt of the 
person being tried are brought out. He questions the 
witnesses and makes a speech to the jury trying to 
prove the guilt of the prisoner. The District Attorney 
is appointed by the President for a term of four years. 

397. United States Marshal. — There is a United States 
Marshal in each district who performs the same duties 
in the United States courts that the Sheriff does in 
the State courts (sections 56-59). He is appointed 
by the President for four vears. 



236 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 



SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS 

1. Imagine a case which would come before the United States 
courts because the Constitution was involved. 

2. Imagine a case which would come before the United States 
courts because a law passed by Congress was involved. 

3. Imagine a case which would come before the United States 
courts because of the citizenship of the persons involved. 

4. Imagine a case which would come before the United States 
courts because two States were involved. 

5. Imagine a case coming before the United States courts because 
of an occurrence on the high seas. 

6. Who are the United States Circuit Judges for this Circuit? 
Where do they live? 

7. Who is the United States District Judge for this District? 
Where does he live? 

8. Report on the impeachment of judges in Jefferson^ s adminis- 
tration. 

9. Find out the circumstances in the cases of the two judges who 
have been removed by impeachment. 



CHAPTER XLIV 

THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT 

398. The United States Supreme Court. — At the head 
of our judicial system stands the United States Supreme 
Court. It is the most influential and distinguished 
court in the history of the world. This is partly due 
to its importance as the highest court of a great country, 
partly to its extraordinary powers, and partly to the 



THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT 237 

learning and character of the judges who have com- 
posed it. 

399. Membership and Appointment. — The Supreme 
Court consists of nine judges, appointed by the Presi- 
dent. They hold office for life, unless they resign 
or are removed by impeachment. Congress has never 
tried but once to impeach a judge of the Supreme 
Court, and that impeachment failed. 

400. Duties. — In general, the United States Supreme 
Court has duties like those of the State Supreme Courts, 
though of greater scope and importance. It is a court 
to correct errors which the lower courts have com- 
mitted in interpreting the law. Except in a few cases 
which we will not consider, this is its only duty. It 
is the highest court for explaining the true meaning 
of the Constitution and the laws. 

401. Appeals from State Supreme Courts. — The Con- 
stitution of the United States declares that it and the 
laws of Congress and treaties made under it shall be 
the supreme law of the land in any State, no matter 
what the laws or Constitution of any State may say. 
For instance, the United States Constitution forbids 
any State to pass any law permitting people to break 
their contracts. Therefore, if any State should pass 
a law that a man who had promised to pay money to 
another man might pay him diamonds or horses or 
land, or anything except money, it would be in viola- 



238 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

tion of the Constitution of the United States. Even 
though the Supreme Court of the State had tried and 
decided a case under this law, it could be appealed 
to the United States Supreme Court and tried again 
there.* If the State Supreme Court had decided 
correctly, the United States Supreme Court would 
confirm its decision and it would stand as the correct 
interpretation of the law. But if the United States 
Supreme Court should consider the State Supreme 
Court wrong, it would reverse the decision of the State 
court. 

The United States Supreme Court would decide 
that the law allowing payment to be made in some- 
thing else than what was promised violated the 
United States Constitution, and was, therefore, of no 

* A case can be carried by appeal from a State Supreme Court to the 
United States Supreme Court on account of the United States Constitution, 
treaties or laws, being involved only when the State Supreme Court denies 
some right claimed by either party under the United States Constitution, 
treaties or laws. Even when the United States Constitution, treaties or 
laws are involved, the United States Supreme Court will not review the 
decision of the State Supreme Court if that Court has decided in favor of 
every right claimed under the United States Constitution, treaties and laws. 
The object of granting the appeal to the United States Supreme Court is to 
insure the supremacy of the national Constitution, laws and treaties ; but if 
this is already granted by the State Supreme Court the intervention of the 
United States Supreme Court for this purpose becomes unnecessary. It is 
conceivable, though not probable, that injustice might arise from this limit- 
ation of the right of appeal to the national Supreme Court ; for a vState 
Supreme Court might grant rights claimed as against a State law or Consti- 
tution under the United States Constitution which the national Supreme 
Court might decide that the national Constitution did not grant. 



REVIEW OF JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 239 

force and not to be obeyed. If Congress itself should 
pass a law contrary to the Constitution, the United 
States Supreme Court would declare it no law in 
any case which came before it under that law. In 
this way, the United States Constitution and laws 
are obeyed and are given the same meaning all over 
the country. 

402. Respect for the Supreme Court. — The decisions 
of the United States Supreme Court have been marked 
by such wisdom and justice that they are very much 
respected by the people and by the officers of the gov- 
ernment. The Court's interpretation of the Consti- 
tution has been one of the strongest influences in build- 
ing the United States into a great nation. 

OUTLINE REVIEW OF THE JUDICIAL DE- 
PARTMENT OF THE NATIONAL GOVERN- 
MENT 

Jurisdiction of United States Courts. 

First, cases on account of the law involved (§ 384). 

United States Constitution. 

Treaties. 

Laws of Congress. 
Second, cases on account of the person involved (§ 385). 

Cases between citizens of different States. 

Cases between a foreigner and a citizen of a State. 

Cases between States. 

Cases begun by a State against a foreigner or a citizen 
of another State. 

Cases involving a foreign minister, ambassador or consul. 



240 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Third, cases on account of the place involved (§386). 
Cases arising on the high seas. 
Methods of trial similar to those of State Courts (§ 388). 

Grades of United States Courts (§ 389). 

United States District Court (§§ 390 and 392). 

One District Judge in each district. 
United States Circuit Court (§§ 391 and 392). 

One or two Circuit Judges in each circuit. 
United States Circuit Court of Appeals (§ 393). 

Held by three (or two) Judges from Supreme, Circuit 
and District Courts. 
United States Supreme Court (§ 394). 

Nine Judges. 

Appointment of Judges, Etc. 

All United States Judges appointed by President, subject to 

confirmation by the Senate (§395). 

Serve for life unless they resign or are impeached. 
A United States District Attorney (a prosecuting officer) and 

a United States Marshal (like a Sheriff) in each district. 

Appointed by President, subject to confirmation by 
Senate, for four years (§§ 396-397). 

The United States Supreme Court. 

Corrects errors in law committed by lower courts (§ 400). 
Hears appeals from State Supreme Courts in cases in which 

a right claimed under United States Constitution, treaties 

or laws has been denied (§401). 
Its great influence on American history (§ 402). 



TERBITOBIES AND COLONIES 24I 

CHAPTER XLV 

TERRITORIES AND COLONIES 

403. States and Territorial Possessions. — The United 
States consists of two parts: the States, which are 
members of the Union, and the territorial possessions, 
which are not members of the Union and have no part 
in its government. 

404. Difference between a State and a Territory. — 
A State has a great many rights reserved to it by the 
Constitution. Its own government and the business and 
ordinary affairs of its people are almost completely 
imder its own control. The United States government 
cannot interfere with a State in any of these matters. 
Moreover, the original thirteen States by their own 
voluntary act created the Union and formed the 
Constitution. 

A territory, on the other hand, has no constitutional 
rights of its own. Congress has the power to give it 
such form of government as it thinks proper.* More- 
over, the territories had no part in creating the Union 
or forming the Constitution. 

405. Origin of Territories. — When we seceded from 

* The inhabitants of a territory are protected as individuals against certain 
oppressive acts by certain clauses of the Constitution forbidding Congress 
to do certain things; but the territories as such have no guaranteed rights. 



242 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

England, a number of the States extended westward 
to the Mississippi River. The portions west of the 
Appalachian mountains were wild, unsettled country. 
With patriotic regard for the general good, the differ- 
ent States holding this territory gave it to the United 
States government. In 1803, we bought the vast 
Louisiana purchase from France. This, of course, 
was not a State, but only ** territory." And so on, 
through the whole list of possessions that we have at 
various times acquired. 

406. Power of Congress over Territories.* — ^The Con- 
stitution says that '' Congress shall have power to dis- 
pose of and make all needful rules and regulations 
respecting the territory or other property belonging 
to the United States." The power of Congress to 
govern the territories as it thinks best is thus unlimited, 
except by those clauses of the Constitution forbidding 
Congress to take a man's life, liberty or property with- 
out legal trial, to interfere with the freedom of speech 

* The author has not considered it necessary, in an elementary text-book, 
to cite authorities. In view, however, of the fact that there has been so 
much difference of opinion, since the question raised by the management of 
the territorial acquisitions of the Spanish-American war, of the relations of 
territories to the United States government, he here departs from this 
rule. These questions were discussed and decided by the United States 
Supreme Court in a series of cases known as the "insular cases," in 1900 
and 1901. They are De Lima v. Bidwell, 182 U. S., i ; Downes z>. Bid- 
well, 182 U. S., 244; Fourteen Diamond Rings v. U. S., 183 U. S., 176. 
Some important points are, however, still left obscure. The author will 
willingly cite any person to the authority for any statement in any portion 
of this text-book. 



TERRITORIES AND COLONIES 243 

or religious belief, to deprive a person of any right 
because of his race or color, and so forth.* 

407. Territorial Government. — Territorial government 
is of two kinds : self-governing and not self-governing. 

Territories which are self-governing are usually 
called organized territories, and those which are not 
self-governing are called unorganized. 

408. Unorganized Territories. — An unorganized terri- 
tory has a Governor, judges and other officials ap- 
pointed by the President ; but towns and cities in their 
bounds elect mayors and aldermen and manage their 
local affairs just as in a State. Alaska is (1906) the only 
unorganized territory. 

409. Organized Territories. — An organized territory 
has a government very similar to that of a State. The 
President appoints the Governor and the Judges of 
the Supreme Court of the territory. All the officers 
and the members of both houses of the territorial 
Legislature are elected just as in a State. 

The territorial Legislature passes laws to govern the 
people of the territory and the Governor has the veto 
power, as in a State. But Congress also can change 
or veto any of these laws. The Governor must also 

* The United States government has sometimes promised in a treaty of 
acquisition, as in the case of the Louisiana purchase, to grant certain rights 
to the inhabitants of the purchased territory. Nothing except a sense of 
duty and honor prevents Congress from disregarding a treaty of this kind; 
but Congress has never broken such a treaty. 



244 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

make a report every year to the President. A self- 
governing territory elects a delegate to sit in the House 
of Representatives in Washington, D. C. He may 
speak on any matter appertaining to the territory, so 
that Congress may understand the needs of the terri- 
tory and not pass harmful or offensive laws ; but he 
has no vote. Arizona, Hawaii and New Mexico 
are self-governing territories. 

410. Admission. — After a territory has been trained 
for some years in self-government, and has a consider- 
able population, it is admitted into the Union by Con- 
gress as a State. It then has all the rights of the 
original States, as fully as if it had been a State from 
the foundation of the government. 

411. Outlying Possessions. — The power of Congress 
over territory which happens to lie next to the States 
or which is on the opposite side of the world is the same. 
But it has seen fit to govern the possessions lying at a 
distance in a somewhat different way. 

412. Central Government of the Philippine Islands. 
— ^The Philippines are governed by a system half way 
between an organized and an unorganized territory. 
A Governor and seven Commissioners are appointed 
by the President of the United States. The Governor 
is the chief executive of the Philippine Islands and 
the Commissioners are the legislature. Three of the 
Commissioners must be Filipinos; the Governor and 



TERRITORIES AND COLONIES 245 

four Commissioners must be Americans. This system 
puts control in the hands of the Americans, but fur- 
nishes a means for the desires and needs of the natives 
to be expressed. It is reasonable to suppose that if 
the three Filipino Commissioners are united in favor 
of any measure which is plainly just and necessary, 
at least one of the Americans will agree with them, 
and so make a majority in favor of the needed measure. 

The law of Congress provides that two years after the publica- 
tion of the census of the Philippine Islands, if the islands are then 
at peace, a more liberal form of government shall be set up. The 
law-making power shall be given to a legislature of two houses. 
The seven men appointed by the President constituting the Philip- 
pine Commission shall be the upper house, and the inhabitants 
of the islands who possess the quahfications of voters in municipal 
elections shall elect the lower house. The Civil Governor will 
continue to be appointed by the President. 

The census of the islands, in four volumes, containing a vast 
amount of interesting and useful information, was published in 
1905. It was compiled by the same methods used in this country, 
and native officers were employed as much as possible. 

413. Local Government of the Philippine Islands.— 

The islands are divided into fifty provinces.* Each 
province has a Governor elected by the town councils 
of various towns and cities of the province. The 
town councils are elected by the people. There is a 
complete system of courts and schools. A moderate 
property quaHfication for voting is required. 

* A few of the smaller divisions do not, however, bear the name province. 



246 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

An attempt is being made to institute self-government 
in the country districts. 

414. Porto Rico has a government like that of an 
organized, self-governing territory. 

CHAPTER XLVI 

NATIONAL POLITICS 

415. In Chapter XXXI we learned something of 
elections and politics in South Carolina. We will 
now glance at the same subject as it concerns the 
whole nation. 

416. Political Parties. — There have always been in 
the United States two great political parties, divided 
from each other on certain ideas and principles of 
government. 

417. The Dividing Principle. — This division has been 
mainly on account of one great principle of government 
on which the opinions of the people of the country 
have differed. 

Sometimes the parties forget this great principle; 
sometimes smaller parties become prominent because 
of some special or temporary cause, as, for instance, 
the Populists or the Prohibitionists. Frequently the 
two great parties have been occupied with some special 
object which for the time obscures their fundamental 
difference. But this underlying difference of principle 



NATIONAL POLITICS 247 

always reasserts itself and shapes the character of the 
two great parties. This great dividing principle is: 
whether our government at Washington shall be a 
strong, centralized national government, exercising 
all the power possible under the Constitution and 
tending to perform more and more duties for the people ; 
or whether this tendency to centralization of powder 
in the national government in Washington shall be 
resisted. The Federalist (i 790-1816), National Re- 
publican (1824-1832), Whig (1832-1854) and Re- 
publican (since 1854) parties have, one after the other, 
stood for large powders in the national government. 
The Democratic party, which has existed since 1790, 
has resisted the tendency to increase those powers. 

418. A Further Difference. — There is another differ- 
ence W'hich has generally marked the tw^o parties. The 
Federalists, National Republicans, Whigs and Republi- 
cans have usually been strongly under the influence 
of the classes whom circumstances or the laws have 
specially favored — "the rich, well born and able," as 
one of their number put it a century ago. The Demo- 
crats (except where strong local or temporary causes 
pulled them the other way) have been more the party 
of the masses of the people. 

419. Party Organization. — Each party has an organi- 
zation extending all over the country. In the Southern 
States the organization of the Republican party is 



248 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

weak and little noticed; but in other parts of the 
country each party has its party officers and clubs 
actively at work in every village, township and 
city. 

420. The Club.^The lowest, but most important, 
part of the party organization is the Democratic or 
Republican "club." 

A club is composed of a number of men of the same 
party in a town or country neighborhood. An ordinary 
average club would contain from eighty to a hundred 
and fifty members. 

421. The County Convention. — Each club elects a 
number of representatives, according to its member- 
ship,* to go to the County Convention of the party. 
The County Democratic Convention, for instance, 
elects a certain number of men, according to the popu- 
lation of the county, to go to the State Democratic 
Convention. In States where " primary elections " do 
not exist, the County Convention also nominates the 
party candidates for the different county offices. 

If a man or group of men can control the clubs, they 
can have delegates sent to the County Convention who 
will nominate the candidates they want. Most Demo- 
crats or Republicans will vote for whomever the party 
convention nominates. This makes the club of ex- 

* Or according to the population of the ward, township or precinct. 



NATIONAL POLITICS 249 

treme importance. The clubs are the foundation 
stones on which the party organization rests. 

422. The State Convention. — ^The Democratic State 
Convention, or the Republican State Convention, as 
the case may be, attracts a great deal more attention 
than the Coimty Conventions; but the Coimty Con- 
ventions are really more important, because they elect 
the members of the State Convention. In that way, 
whoever controls the County Conventions controls 
the State Convention. This gives great power to the 
professional politician, and may enable him, by having 
an influential friend in each county, to run the party 
very much as he pleases. To decrease this power, we 
in South Carolina have taken away from the conven- 
tions their most important power — the nominating of 
the party candidates — and have given it to the people 
of the party voting in a primary election. (See sections 
253 and 254). The State Convention adopts a plat- 
form * (see section 424), appoints an Executive Com- 
mittee to see after the interests of the party until the 
next convention meets (which is not until the next 
campaign year), attends to any other necessary busi- 
ness, and adjourns. 

423. The National Convention. — Once every four 
years each party holds a National Convention, to 

* Generally, but not always in years in which there is no Presidential 
election. 



250 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

nominate its candidate for President and Vice-Presi- 
dent of the United States and to adopt a set of princi- 
ples called a platform. The delegates to the National 
Convention are elected by the State Conventions of 
that party. Each State Convention elects twice as 
many delegates as the State has members of both 
houses of Congress. 

424. Meeting of the National Convention. — The 
National Convention is held in some large city in the 
early summer of the year of a Presidential election. 
The Fourth of July is frequently selected. It is a great 
event and numbers of cities make great efforts to be 
selected by the Committee having this in charge. A 
great building, holding ten or fifteen thousand people, 
is erected for the meeting. The delegates (about 
eight hundred in number) sit in the front of the hall, 
and around and behind them spreads the vast audience 
of outsiders, some of whom have paid thirty or forty 
dollars for tickets of admission. 

425. Forming the Platform. — The National Con- 
vention has two great duties: forming the platform 
and nominating the candidate for President. It also 
appoints an Executive Committee to carry on the 
campaign, nominates a candidate for Vice-President, 
and sometimes passes resolutions of interest. But 
these are slight compared with the two other duties. 
The platform is formed first. It is a statement of what 



NATIONAL POLITICS 25 1 

the party believes in and promises to do if its candi- 
dates are elected. It is written so as to get up the 
most enthusiasm and catch the most votes. 

426. Nominating. — Then comes naming the party's 
candidate for the greatest public office in the world. 
Excitement becomes intense. Brass bands are play- 
ing, crowds shouting, parades marching and leaders 
planning for their favorites all over the city. Tele- 
grams are flying over the wires to every State in the 
Union, and beyond to every country of the world. 
Inside the convention hall, speeches are being made 
in favor of different candidates, answered by such 
applause and uproar from the thousands of hearers 
as sounds like the roaring of Niagara. 

At last the voting begins. The names of the States 
are called in alphabetical order. As a State is called, 
the leader of its delegates rises and announces how 
they vote — sometimes for different candidates, but 
usually all from one State for one candidate. Rarely 
does any candidate receive the necessary majority 
on the first ballot, and so the convention has to vote 
again. Sometimes they vote and re- vote for one or 
two days before anyone can get the required nimiber. 
But at last someone is chosen ; and, if he is a favorite 
with the country, such a shout is sent up by the thou- 
sands present that the booming of the cannon outside 
cannot be heard in the building. The telegraph wires 



252 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

flash the news around the world and to every village 
and city in the nation. 

427. The Campaign. — ^The campaign is begun. The 
excitement and rejoicing of the conventions are taken 
up in parades and orations all over the country. For 
four months every means possible is used by each party 
to persuade the voters to vote for their candidate. As 
members of Congress and State Legislatures are being 
elected at the same time, the campaign and election 
are of great importance. 

428. The Election. — At last election day arrives — 
the Tuesday after the first Monday of November. 
The people declare their will at the ballot box, and 
the defeated party quietly accepts the result. 



CHAPTER XLVII 

RELATIONS OF THE STATE GOVERNMENTS TO EACH 
OTHER AND TO THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 

429. One System. — ^The State and national govern- 
ments taken together form one system. They are 
not rivals or enemies ; they are both controlled by the 
people and serve the interests of the people, each in 
its own sphere. 

430. Federal Government. — ^The plan of uniting a 
number of States into one country, in which each State 



STATE AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 253 

still continues to control its own internal affairs, is 
called Federal government. It is the best form of 
government ever devised for a large coimtry; because 
it has great strength in managing all matters of common 
concern, and at the same time allows the people of 
the different sections of the country to manage their 
State affairs in the way best suited to their own cir- 
cumstances. The advantage of this will be understood 
if we think for a moment of what different laws are 
needed in different States. In Nevada the people 
must have a set of rules governing mining; but no 
such rules are needed in Delaware. In many Southern 
and Western States special stock and game laws are 
needed; but not in Connecticut or Rhode Island. A 
manufacturing State, full of large cities, requires many 
special regulations which its own people understand 
better than outsiders. Similarly the different habits 
and customs of different sections make it very neces- 
sary to have different regulations on some matters. 

431. Similarity of State Institutions. — But the differ- 
ences between State laws, customs and institutions 
are not so important as their resemblances. The 
States tend to imitate each other in any respect in 
which one has been successful. In this way, each 
State gets the benefit of the experience of others and 
has a better system of government than it would have 
worked out by itself. 



254 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

A successful law or a good code is frequently adopted almost 
word for word by many other States.* 

432. Relations of the States to Each Other. — The 

most important points in which the governments of 
different States touch each" other are the following: 
Citizenship; extradition; agreements; interstate com- 
merce. 

433. Citizenship. — ^The Constitution of the United 
States provides that citizenship depends upon national, 
and not State, law. Every person born or naturalized 
in the United States is a citizen -of the United States 
and also a citizen of the State in which he resides. A 
State can require that a man coming from another 
State must live within its bounds for a reasonable 
time (two years in South Carolina) before being allowed 
to vote ; but it cannot deny him the rights of citizen- 
ship, such as buying and selling property, protection 
of the law, and the right to do anything any other 
citizen may do. 

434. Voting and Citizenship. — ^Voting is not a right of citizen- 
ship, but is a privilege, enjoyed usually by the male citizens twenty- 
one years of age. In the four States of Wyoming (since 1870), 
Colorado (since 1893), Utah (since 1895) and Idaho (since 1896) 
women have the same right of voting as men. In twenty-one other 
States women can vote in some elections, usually in school dis- 
tricts. Yet women and children are full citizens. In several 
States men who neither own property nor are able to read are not 
allowed to vote; but they are citizens and enjoy the rights and 
protection of citizens. 

* Let pupils ask lawyers for some instances of this. 



8TA TE AND NA TIONA L GO VERNMENT8 255 

435. Extradition. — ^This means securing upon de-' 
mand a person who is charged with crime and has 
escaped into another State. The United States Con- 
stitution requires that any State must dehver to the 
officers of any other State any person who has fled 
from that State to avoid being tried and punished for 
a crime. As a State government has no power outside 
its own bounds, some of the most desperate criminals 
would be secure against capture unless the United 
States Constitution gave the right to demand their 
surrender by the government of any State into which 
they flee. The Governor of the State from which the 
criminal has fled addresses the requisition to the Gov- 
ernor of the State to which the criminal has fled. 

436. Agreement between States. — The United States 
Constitution forbids the States to form any treaty 
or alliance among themselves, as this would break the 
country up into hostile sections. But this does not 
prevent States from agreeing to settle any dispute 
between themselves without taking it to the Supreme 
Court. South Carolina has several times appointed 
commissioners to meet commissioners to settle her 
boundary line with North Carolina and also with 
Georgia. 

437. Interstate Commerce. — No State can interfere 
with trade or commerce between her own citizens and 
persons outside the State. This, together with the law 



256 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

of the United States Constitution that citizens of each 
State shall have all the protection and rights in any 
other State that its own citizens enjoy, unites the whole 
country very closely. 

438. Relations of the State and National Govern- 
ments. — It might seem that with two governments 
each exercising such powers, the States and nation 
might not get on well together. And yet they do. 
They hardly ever clash, and when they do, a settlement 
is easily made. They work so smoothly for two 
reasons: First, since they are parts of one system, 
each with its duties assigned, it is usually easy to tell 
to which any particular business belongs. And second, 
whenever there is a clash, the decision of the United 
States Supreme Court is recognized and obeyed. 

439. Growth of Nationality. — The State and na- 
tional governments have not always worked together 
so smoothly. For many years the States occasionally 
resisted the national government. The secession of 
the eleven States in 1 860-1 861 was only the last and 
greatest attempt of States to enforce their opinions 
against those of the national government. Long ex- 
perience has shown that it is best to allow the national 
government, acting in the last resort through the 
Supreme Court, to decide all disputes between it and 
any State. The people all over the country have come 
to respect the national government, to trust it as their 



STATE AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS 257 

own government, and to regard themselves as one 
great, united nation. 

440. An Indestructible Union of Indestructible States. 

— ^The nation and the States are both necessary to each 
other. Although by many people this was not under- 
stood at first, it is now universally acknowledged. 
The nation is strong and great because it is supported 
by States that are free and vigorous; and the States 
can remain free and vigorous because they are pro- 
tected by a nation that is strong and great. 



THE END 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.^ 

We the People of the United States, in order to form a more per- 
fect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for 
the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the 
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and 
establish this Constitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I. — Section i. — All legislative powers herein granted 
shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall con- 
sist of a Senate and House of Representatives. 

Section 2. — i. The House of Representatives shall be composed 
of members chosen every second year by the people of the several 
States, and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications 
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Leg- 
islature. 

2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained 
to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of 
the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabi- 
tant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among 
the several States which may be included within this Union, accord- 
ing to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by 
adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound 
to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, 
three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be 
made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the 
United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in 
such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Represen- 
tatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each 
State shall have at least one Representative : and until such enumera- 
tion shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to 
chuse three ; Massachusetts, eight ; Rhode Island and Providence 

* The orig^inal spelling in the Constitution is retained, but not the original capital- 
ization. 



26o CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Plantations, one; Connecticut, five; New York, six; New Jersey, 
four ; Pennsylvania, eight ; Delaware, one ; Maryland, six ; Virginia, 
ten; North Carolina, five; South Carolina, five; and Georgia, three. 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, 
the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill 
such vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and 
other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section 3. — i. The Senate of the United States shall be composed 
of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, 
for six years ; and each Senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the 
first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three 
classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated 
at the expiration of the second year ; of the second class, at the ex- 
piration of the fourth year ; and of the third class, at the expiration 
of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year ; 
and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the 
recess of the Legislature of any State, the executive thereof may 
make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legis- 
lature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the 
age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United 
States, and w'ho shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that 
State for which he shall be chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of 
the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall chuse their other officers, and also a Presi- 
dent pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he 
shall exercise the office of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
When sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the President of the United States is tried the Chief-Justice 
shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concur- 
rence of two-thirds of the members present. 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further 
than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy 
any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States ; but the 
party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indict- 
ment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to law. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 261 

Section 4. — i. The times, places, and manner of holding elections 
for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State 
by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time, by 
law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of chus- 
ing Senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and 
such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they 
shall by law appoint a different day. 

Section 5. — i. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, re- 
turns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each 
shall constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number 
may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel 
the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such 
penalties, as each house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish 
its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of 
two-thirds, expel a member. 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from 
time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their 
judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of 
either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those 
present, be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without 
the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to 
any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Section 6. — i. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a 
compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid 
out of the treasury of the United States. Tliey shall in all cases, 
except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from 
arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective 
houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any 
speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any 
other place. 

2. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which 
he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority 
of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emolu- 
ments whereof shall have been increased, during such time; and no 
person, holding any office under the United States, shall be a mem- 
ber of either house during his continuance in office. 

Section 7. — i. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 



262 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

House of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur 
with amendments as on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representa- 
tives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to 
the President of the United States; if he approve, he shall sign it, 
but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in 
which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at 
large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such 
reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the 
bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other 
house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved 
by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all 
such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas 
and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against 
the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. 
If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days 
(Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the 
same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which 
case it shall not be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence 
of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary 
(except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to 
the President of the United States; and before the same shall take 
effect, shall be approved by him, or, being disapproved by him, 
shall be repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the 
case of a bill. 

Section 8. — The Congress shall have power: 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to 
pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general 
welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises 
shall be uniform throughout the United States; 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

3. To regulate the commerce with foreign nations, and among 
the several States, and with the Indian tribes; 

4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform 
laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and ©f foreign coin, 
and fix the standard of weights and measures ; 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 263 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities 
and current coin of the United States; 

7. To establish post offices and post roads ; 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by secur- 
ing, for limited times, to authors and inventors the exclusive rights 
to their respective writings and discoveries; 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on 
the high seas, and offences against the law of nations; 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make 
rules concerning captures on land and water; 

12. To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of money 
to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; 

13. To provide and maintain a navy; 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land 
and naval forces; 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws 
of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the 
militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed 
in the service of the United States, reserving to the States re- 
spectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority of 
training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by 
Congress; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever 
over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by 
cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become 
the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise 
like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the 
Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the 
erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful 
buildings; — and 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for 
carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers 
vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, 
or in any department or officer thereof. 

Section 9. — i. The migration or importation of such persons as 
any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall 
not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand 



264 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on 
such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 
pended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public 
safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in pro- 
portion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be 
taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any 
State. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce 
or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another; nor 
shall vessels bound to or from one State, be obliged to enter, clear, 
or pay duties in another. 

7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in conse- 
quence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and 
account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall 
be published from time to time. 

8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; 
and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, 
shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, 
emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, 
prince, or foreign state. 

Section 10. — i. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, 
or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; 
emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a 
tender in payment of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto 
law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any 
title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any 
imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be ab- 
solutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net 
produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports 
or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States ; 
and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and controul of 
the Congress. 

3. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any 
duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships-of-war, in time of peace, 
enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 265 

a foreign power, or engage in war. unless actually invaded, or in 
such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. — Section i. — i. The executive power shall be 
vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall 
hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with 
the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as 
follows: 

2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature 
thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole num- 
ber of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be en- 
titled in the Congress ; but no Senator or Representative, or person 
holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be 
appointed an elector. 

[3. The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote 
by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall 
make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of 
votes for each ; which list the}- shall sign and certify and transmit 
sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed 
to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, 
in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open 
all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The 
person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors 
appointed; and if there be more than one w^ho have such m-ajority 
and have an equal number of votes, tlien the House of Repre- 
sentatives shall immediately chuse by ballot one of them for 
President; and if no person have a majority, then from the five 
highest on the list the said House shall, in like manner, chuse the 
President. But in chusing the President, the votes shall be taken 
by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members 
from two-thirds of the States and a majority of all the States shall 
be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the 
President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the 
electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain 
two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall chuse from 
them by ballot the Vice-President.] * 

4. The Congress may determine the time of chusing the elec- 

* This paragraph was superseded by the XII Amendment. 



266 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which 
day shall be the same throughout the United States. 

5. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the 
United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, 
shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person 
be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age 
of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the 
United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of 
his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and 
duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-Presi- 
dent, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of re- 
moval, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and 
Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, 
and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be re- 
moved, or a President shall be elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services 
a compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished 
during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he 
shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the 
United States, or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take 
the following oath or affirmation: — ^" I do solemnly swear (or 
affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of 
the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, pro- 
tect and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

Section 2. — i. The President shall be commander in chief of the 
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the 
several States, when called into the actual service of the United 
States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal 
officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject re- 
lating to the duties of their respective offices; and he shall have 
power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators 
present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate shall appoint ambassadors, other 
public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and 
all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 267 

herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by 
law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such 
inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in 
the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that 
may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting com- 
missions which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Section 3. — i. He shall from time to time give to the Congress 
information of the state of the Union, and lecommend to their 
consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and ex- 
pedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, 
or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them with 
respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such 
time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and 
other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faith- 
fully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United 
States. 

Section 4. — The President, Vice-President and all civil officers 
of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment 
for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and 
misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. — Section i. — The judicial power of the United 
States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior 
courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and estab- 
lish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall 
hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, 
receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be dimin- 
ished during their continuance in office. 

Section 2. — i. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in 
law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the 
United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under 
their authority; — to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls ; — to all cases of admiralty and maritime 
jurisdiction; — to controversies to which the United States shall be 
a party; — to controversies between two or more States; — between 
a State and citizens of another State; — between citizens of different 
States; — between citizens of the same State claiming lands under 
grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens 
thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and 



268 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

consuls, and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme 
Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other cases before 
mentioned the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, 
both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such 
regulations as the Congress shall make. 

3, The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall 
be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the 
said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed 
within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the 
Congress may by law have directed. 

Section 3. — i. Treason against the United States shall consist 
only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, 
giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of 
treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt 
act, or on confession in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment 
of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of 
blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. — Section i. — Full faith and credit shall be given 
in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings 
of every other State. And the Congress may by general laws 
prescribe the manner in which such acts, records and proceedings 
shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section 2. — i. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to 
all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other 
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, 
shall on demand of the executive authority of the State from 
which he fled, be delivered up to be removed to the State having 
jurisdiction of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the 
laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any 
law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, 
but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such 
service or labor may be due. 

Section 3. — i. New States may be admitted by the Congress 
into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within 
the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by 
the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the 
consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as 
of the Congress. 



CONSTITUTION OF TEE UNITED STATES. 269 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all 
needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other 
property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this 
Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of 
the United States, or of any particular State. 

Section 4. — The United States shall guarantee to every State in 
this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect 
each of them against invasion ; and on application of the Legisla- 
ture, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be con- 
vened) against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. — I. The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both 
houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to 
this Constitution, or, on the application of the Legislatures of 
two-thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for pro- 
posing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all 
intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified 
by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by 
conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode 
of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that 
no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand 
eight hundred and eight shall in any manner afifect the first and 
fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that 
no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suf- 
frage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. — I. All debts contracted and engagements en- 
tered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as 
valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under 
the Confederation. 

2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which 
shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be 
the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall 
be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any 
State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the 
members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and 
judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several States, 
shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution ; 
but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to 
any office or public trust under the United States. 



270 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ARTICLE VII. — The ratification of the conventions of nine 
States, shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution 
between the States so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States pres- 
ent the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord 
one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven and of the in- 
dependence of the United States of America the twelfth. 



AMENDMENTS. 

ARTICLE I. — Congress shall make no law respecting an estab- 
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right 
of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the govern- 
ment for redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II. — A well regulated militia being necessary to the 
security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear 
arms shall not be infringed. 

ARTICLE III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered 
in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, 
but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV. — The right of the people to be secure in their 
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches 
and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, 
but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and 
particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons 
or things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital, 
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indict- 
ment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval 
forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war 
or in public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same 
offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be 
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, 
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process 
of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without 
just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall 
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial 



CONSTITUTION OF TEE UNITED STATES. 2/ 1 

jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been 
committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained 
by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusa- 
tion; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have 
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to 
have the assistance of counsel for his defence. 

ARTICLE VII. — In suits at common law, where the value in 
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury 
shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise 
re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to 
the rules of common law. 

ARTICLE VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be required, nor ex- 
cessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX. — The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain 
rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained 
by the people. 

ARTICLE X. — The powers not delegated to the United States 
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are re- 
served to the States respectively, or to the people.* 

ARTICLE XI. — The judicial power of the United States shall 
not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, com- 
menced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens 
of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. t 

ARTICLE XII. — The electors shall meet in their respective 
States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one 
of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State 
with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted 
for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as 
Vice-President; and they shalj make distinct lists of all persons 
voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice- 
President, and of the number of votes for each, which list they 
shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the govern- 
ment of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; 
— the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, open aU the certificates and the 
votes shall then be counted; — the person having the greatest 
number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; 

* The first ten amendments went into effect Nov. 3, 1791. 
t In effect Jan. 8, 1798. 



2/2 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having 
the highest numbers, not exceeding three on the list of those 
voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose 
immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the Presi- 
dent, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from 
each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall con- 
sist of a mem'ber or members from two-thirds of the States, and 
a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if 
the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever 
the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth 
day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as 
President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional dis- 
ability of the President. The person having the greatest number 
of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; 
and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest 
numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a 
quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole 
number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be 
necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible 
to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President 
of the United States.* 

ARTICLE Xin. — Section i. — Neither slavery nor involuntary 
servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party 
shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation.! 

ARTICLE XIV. — Section i. — A^l persons born or naturalized 
in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are 
citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. 
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the 
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall 
any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without 
due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 
the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole 

* In efiEect Sept. 25, 1804. t In effect Dec. 18, 1865. 



CONSTITUTION OF TEE UNITED STATES. 273 

number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But 
when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors 
for President and Vice-President of the United States, representa- 
tives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or 
the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the 
male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, 
and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except 
for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of repre- 
sentation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the 
number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number 
of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in 
Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any 
office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, 
who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, 
or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State 
Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to 
support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged 
in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or 
comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of 
two-thirds of each house, remove such disability. 

Section 4. — The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for pa3'ment of pen- 
sions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or re- 
bellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor 
any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in 
aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any 
claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such 
debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro- 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article.* 

ARTICLE XV. — Section i. — The right of citizens of the United 
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States 
or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition 
of servitude. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation.! 

• In effect July 28, i86§. t In effect March 30, 1870. 



INDEX 



BOOK II 
(The references are to sections) 



Adams. J. Q., 318, 340. 

Agriculture, Department of. 
created, 353; duties, 380. 

Allegiance, 294. 

Ambassadors, 361 ; children of, 
295- 

Amendment to State constitu- 
tion, 244; U. S. Constitution, 
page 201. 

Appeals, to Comptroller Gen- 
eral, 46; to State Board of 
Education, 204; to State Su- 
preme Court, 229; to United 
States Circuit Court of Ap- 
peals, 393: to United States 
Supreme Court, 394. 

Appointments, by Governor, 42; 
by President, 346, 362, 395-7, 
412; power of State Senate 
over, 130; ditto United States 
Senate over, 317, 348. 

Attorney-General, United States, 

353- 

Arizona, 409. 

Articles of Confederation, 272, 
275. 287. 

Austria-Hungary, 361. 

Bankruptcy, 287. 

Banks, State's money kept in, 
186; national, ZJ^- 

Benjamin, J. P., 318. 

Bills. 135; passage of, 137-41, 
316; veto of, 162-3, 301, 308; 
number introduced in Con- 
gress, 324. 

Blaine, J. G., 318, 357- 



Bureau of Engraving and Print- 
ing, 371. 

Butler, P., 318. 

Cabinet, 351 et sq. ; appoint- 
ment, term, salary, 354; rela- 
tions to Congress, 356. 

Calhoun, J. C, 318, 357. 

California, 298. 

Campaign, State, 254; Presiden- 
tial, 427. 

Candidates, 248 et sq. ; 421-3, 426. 

Charge d'afTair, 361. 

Chase, S. P., 318. 

Chinese, 298. 

Choate, R., 318. 

Circuit Courts. See Courts. 

Circuit Judge. See Judges. 

Citizenship, 294-8; 433-4. 

Civil Court. See Court of 
Common Pleas. 

Civil Service Reform, 348. 

Clay, H., 318, 340, 357. 

Clayton, J. M., 318. 

Club, political, 420. 

Colleton, II, 223. 

Colonial government, 269. 

Colorado, 434. 

Commerce, 287, 437. 

Commerce and Labor, Depart- 
ment of, created, 353; duties, 
381. 

Commission, Philippine, 412. 

Committees, 131-3, 136; to ex- 
amine office of State Treas- 
urer, 187; in Congress, 314-5, 
325, 328-9. 



276 



INDEX 



Confederation, Articles of, 272, 

275, 287. 
Congress, Continental, 271-2. 
Congress of Confederation, 272, 

277. 
Congress, United States, 303 et 
sq. ; time of meeting, 305; 
powers of, 306. 
Connecticut, 277, 279. 
Consuls, 366-7. 

Constitution, United States, ob- 
jects in establishing, 274 et 
sq. ; sources of, 301 ; amending, 
page 201. 
Constitutional Convention, 240; 

of 1787, 273. 
Convention, Constitutional, 240, 

273; nominating, 255, 421-6. 
County convention, political, 

421-2. 
Courts. 
State Courts. — Circuit Courts, 
21-2; report of County 
Commissioners to, 37; gen- 
eral nature of, 56; pages 
from records of, 65; juris- 
diction of, 205; appeals 
from, 229; State Supreme 
Court, number and term of 
Judges, 228; duties, 229-32; 
reports, 234; appeals to 
United States Supreme 
Court, 401. 
United States courts. — Duties, 
383 et sq. ; cases tried, 383-6; 
similarity to State courts, 
388; grades, 389; District 
Court, 390, 392; Circuit 
Court, 391-2; Circuit Court 
of Appeals, 393 ; Supreme 
Court, 394, 398 et sq. 
Crawford, W. H., 318, 340. 
Davis, Jefferson, 318, 357. 
Declaration of Independence, 

271, 368. 
Diplomatic service, 360 et sq. 
District Attorney, United States, 

396. 
District of Columbia, 376. 
Douglas, S. A., 318. 



Dutch, 277. 

Electoral ticket, picture oi. 338. 

Electors, Presidential, 337-9. 

England, 276, 278, 301, 318, 361. 

Engraving and Printing, Bu- 
reau of, 371. 

Election, primary, 42, 253-4; of 
Judges, 144; returns, 171; gen- 
eral election, 251; Presiden- 
tial, etc., 338, 427-8; school 
district, 4, 434. 

Envoys, 361. 

Everett, E., 318. 

Executive authority, methods of 
placing, 148, 332-3. 

Executive committee, political, 
422, 425. 

Extradition, 156, 435. 

Federalists, 417-8. 

Federal system of government, 
430. 

Foreign affairs, 292-3. 

France, 361. 

Freedom, of press, 239, 358 et 
sq. ; of religion, 239; of 
speech, 239. 

Gallatin, Albert, 335, 357- 

Georgia, 301, 318, 436. 

Germany, 361. 

Gordon, J. B., 318. 

Governor, appointing power, 
42; message, 135, 160; why 
chief executive, 150; election 
and term, 151; inauguration, 
152; duties and powers, 153-4; 
rewards, 155; extradition, 156, 
435; pardons, 159-60; veto, 
161-3; commander in chief of 
militia, 164-5; impeachment, 
166. 

Grand jury, 2)7, 209-11, 388. 

Grant, U. S., 357. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 335, 357. 

Hammond, J. H., 318. 

Hampton, Wade, 318. 

Harper, R. G., 318. 

Hay, John, 357. 

Hayne, R. Y., 318. 

Hawaii, 409. 

Hill, B. H., 318. 



INDEX 



277 



House of Representatives, State, 
124-6; special powers, 130; 
United States, numbers, term, 
salary, 320; qualifications, 321; 
apportionment, 322 ; election, 
323 ; method of work, 324 ; 
electing President, 340. 

Idaho, 434. . 

Illinois. 318. 

Impeachment, of State officers, 
130, 166; of United States of- 
ficers, 317, 331, 399. 

Inauguration, of Governor, 152; 
of President, 341. 

Income tax, 43. 

Insular cases, 299, footnote. 

Interior, Department of, 353. 

Interstate commerce, 287, 437. 

Italy, 361. 

Jackson, Andrew. 318, 340, 347. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 271, 357, 368. 

Johnson, Andrew, 308, 317, 347. 

Judges — 

State; election and term, 144, 
208, 226 ; charge, 219, 2241; of 
State Supreme Court, 228; 
severe test of Circuit Judge, 
231 ; United States, 390, 391, 

393, 395- 

Jury, grand, 37, 209-11, 388; 
petit, 213, 219-20, 388. 

Justice, Department of, 353, 379. 

Labor, Department of Com- 
merce and. created, 353; 
duties, 381. 

Lawyers, 216, 218, 299, 388. 

Livingston, E., 318. 

Louisiana suffrage law, 261, 318. 

Madison. James, 357. 

Maine, 318. 

Marshal, town, 109; United 
States. 397. 

Marshall. John, 357. 

Maryland, 301, 318, 391. 

Massachusetts, 277, 301, 318. 

McDuffie, George, 318. 

Measures, weights and, 289. 

i^Iexico, 361. 

Militia, 291. 



Military academy at West 
Point, 375-6. 

Ministers, 361. 

Mint, 370. 

Mississippi, 318; suffrage law of, 
261. 

Missouri, 318. 

Monroe, James, 318. 

National banks, 372. 

National Republicans, 417-8. 

Naturalization, 297-8. 

Naval academy at Annapolis, 
375-6. 

Navy Department, created, 353 ; 
duties, 375-7. 

New Jersey, 279. 

New Mexico, 409. 

New York, 277, 279, 318, 322. 

Nominations, 249-50, 253, 255-6, 
421 -3. 426. 

North Carolina, 318, 391, 436. 

Oath of office, 152, 341. 

Ohio, 318. _ 

Pennsylvania, 277, 301. 

Pest house, 20. 

Petit jury, 213, 219-20, 388. 

Philadelphia, 273, 277. 

Philippine commission, 412. 

Philippine Islands, 246. 412-3. 

Pinckney, Charles, 318. 

Pinkney, Wm., 318. 

Platform, 425. 

Politics. State, 264 et sq. ; na- 
tional. 415 et sq. 

Porto Rico, 376, 414. 

Postmaster General, 353; duties, 
378. 

Postoffice Department, 353. 

President, 162 ; Confederate, veto 
power of, 162, 301 ; inaugura- 
tion, 341 ; duties, 342 et sq. ; 
veto, 308, 343; impeachment, 
331: election. 337-9; election 
by House of Representatives, 
331; term, 334; qualifications, 
335 ; salary, 336 ; treaties, 345 ; 
appointments, 346, 376, 395-7, 
412; law of succession, 350; 
removing officials, 354, 



278 



INDEX 



Preston, W. C, 318. 

Primary elections for U. S. 
Senators, 312; for Representa- 
tives, 323. 

Printing, Bureau of Engraving 
and, 371. 

Provinces in Philippines, 413. 

Quakers, 277. 

Randolph, John, 318. 

Readings, three, of bills, 137-40, 
316. 

Republicans, 246, 252, 255, 417-9. 

Revolution, 270, 276, 335, 368. 

Rhode Island, 273. 

Rome, 318. 

Rules, Committee on, 329. 

Russia, 361. 

School districts, laying off, i, 2, 
87; officers of, 3; expenses, 4; 
elections in, 4, 434. 

Schurz, Charles, 318. 

Secretary of State, of State gov- 
ernment, election and term, 
169; of national government, 
348. 

Senate, State, 124-6; special 
powers, 130; United States, 
numbers, term and salary, 304, 
310; origin, 309; qualifica- 
tions, 311; election, 312; spe- 
cial powers, 317; influence, 319. 

" Senatorial courtesy," 347, 

Seward, W. H., 318, 357- 

Shays' rebellion, 277. 

Sherman, John, 318. 

Solicitor, 214-27. 

South Carolina, great Senators 
from, 318; re-electing Repre- 
sentatives from, 320; primary 
elections in, 253-4, 2)^Z\ djtto 
for United States Senators, 312. 



Speaker of House of Represen- 
tatives, State, 128; United 
States, 326-30. 

State, Department of, created, 
353; duties, 358 et sq. 

Succession to the Presidency, 
law of, 350. 

Suffrage, in South Carolina, 
239; in other States, 261, 434; 
woman suffrage, 261, 434. 

Sumner, Charles, 318. 

Sumter, Thomas, 318. 

Taney, R. B., 357- 

Tariff, 246, 285. 

Tennessee, 318, 322. 

Territories, 299, 376, 403, et sq. 

Toombs, Robert, 318. 

Treasury, Department of, cre- 
ated, 353 ; duties, 369 et sq. ; 
relations with Congress, ^yz- 

Treaties, 317, 365, 368. 

United States District Attorney, 
396. 

United States Marshal, 397. 

Utah, 434. 

Vance, Z. B., 318. 

Vermont, 2yy. 

Veto, Governor's, 161-3; Presi- 
dent's, 301, 308. 

Vice-President, 317, 335, 349- 

Virginia, 318, 391. 

War, 291 ; Department of, cre- 
ated, 353; its duties, ■375-7- 

Washington, George, 368. 

Webster, Daniel, 318, 357. 

Weights and measures, 289. 

West Point Military Academy, 
375-6. 

West Virginia, 391. 

Whigs, 417-8. 

Woman suffrage, 261, 434. 

Wyoming, 434. 






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